For What It's Worth
by Just Another Indonesian Writer
Summary: Thrust into the deep and harsh realities of war between humans, the 501st JFW must survive through the horrors of the Vietnam Conflict. But they're not alone, throw in some guys from the USMC's 222nd Army Battalion to help them out, and you'll have an actual Bad Company. "Welcome to 'Nam, Witches. Enjoy your stay." [M for blood, language, etc, no Yuri]
1. Prologue

Halim '_China_' Liu Li Wen, callsign '_Abnormal Survivor'_ was just looking over to the far western horizons from his seat. The Asian-American soldier was sitting at the passenger seat of the UH-1 Huey, the transport chopper for the United States' Armed Forces, more specifically, the 1st Cavalry Division, most known by the name of 'Air Cavalry' in the ranks. The twenty-one year old soldier stared blankly at his standard issue AR-15 rifle, occasionally playing with the safety lock of the said long, black rifle.

He could hear several chatters from his own team, a division from the 222nd Army Battalion, the B-Company, or the Bad Company, dubbed by most of the veterans out there. The battalion had the highest mortality and MIA rates out of all the forces out there, both the normal Infantry Division and the South Vietnamese Army combined, since the division itself was mostly consisted of poorly trained soldiers, hell-raisers, trouble-makers, and others that're deemed 'expendable' by the main force, 'The first ones in, and the last ones out', 'Cannon Fodder', and many other monikers were called out to 'honor' this battalion.

The Bad Company was even worse. Most of the US Marine Corps' recruits went over here to get their 'first taste of battles against the NVA', hence the many happy-go-lucky FNG idiots scattered around and about. Most of them are spouting about they're going to set the forest on fire with their guns and flamethrowers or what not... the next second and, boom, they're gone, either by mortar fire, knife to the throat, fire on their body, or a bullet deep in their heads. Those who're lucky enough to survive their first contact would be transferred to the main force. One's transfer to the 222nd could be considered as a death sentence or a punishment.

Bad Company was more like a shock-trauma team for the rookies out there, a 'test' if you wish. Live through a patrol through the jungle, then, you pass, die, you fail. Simple as that. Well, anyways, welcome to the 1960's 'Nam. A place where one could call hell and heaven at the same time. I mean, there're forests to burn, guns to fire, villages to be destroyed, government to be conquered, bitches to be fucked, dead comrades to be cried over, shit to blow up, and more blood to spill on the field. What more could you ask for?

The Indonesian-Chinese-American Sergeant mopped his dirty, tanned face with his free, but also dirty gloved hand, trying to get a better view of his surroundings. Aside from the chatters and some jokes of his team, he could also hear some bits and pieces of the Creedence Clearwater Revival, abbreviated CCR's _Fortunate Son_, a rather popular song in the force, played through the open radio channels of the USAF, but most of them were left unheard, because of the loud whirring noises of the Huey chopper.

The sun was already rather low in the skies, coloring the high ceilings of the world with an unimpressive orange blotch. Clouds were hanging low, more dull gray with some water particles stored inside them. It was going to rain, and soon, but he still carried out his orders. Breaking his staring contest with the skies, he averted his gaze to the jungle grounds below, he could still smell the gunpowder and the gasoline that was used in the F-4 Phantoms' Napalm bomb strikes. A firefight had happened near the area. It was to secure the AO to make an outpost of the USMCs.

The region's name? _Khe Sanh River_. For now, the base was secured, at least by 'living standards' of war-torn officers, although the base itself still received some flak as well as mortar fires, and finally, not forgetting the occasional raides from the NVA more times than he could even count. At least, the main force could still come and go through the airfield. Still, there has to be at least one casualty per day in the Khe Sanh.

"Alright, you lazy-ass greenhorns, listen up!" A gruff, commanding voice entered his ears, even though Abnormal Survivor knew that the order was not directed at him, he still raised his head. His brown eyes fell upon a dark skinned supposed leader of the infantry unit, and his CO, First Lieutenant Samuel Redford. "Quiet down! Quiet down!" He barked, silencing the chatters inside the UH-1, also prompting the pilot to mute the song on the radio.

All mouths were zipped at the command. Most of the rookies turned their faces towards their commanding officer.

Redford shot all of them a sharp look of his own. "Okay, I want you guys to listen to me carefully. I'm sure that most of you've been briefed already back at the base, but I'm also sure that most of you were to busy jacking off to naked pictures of Viet Cong women."

Some chuckles and suppressed laughs, courtesy of the newbies broke out. Even the Huey pilot himself was smirking, amused at the comment. Liu simply raised an eyebrow, although this went unnoticed, as his eyes were still covered by the reflective goggles he's wearing, but refrained from reacting whatsoever to the 'joke' his leader made.

"Shut up, now." The African-American raised his free left hand to silence the chopper's passenger once more. "Okay, so, I'm just going to repeat what the guys back at the FB said, we're supposed to patrol the surrounding area of the forest. Our objective? Simple, circle around the same damn spot for thirty minutes until sundown. The Huey will be back to pick us up." Explained the lieutenant. "Any questions?"

A hand was raised by a random private, but before he could answer it, Redford puts a finger up to his lips.

"See any NVA? Kill 'em. Simple as that." He answered plainly, automatically answering the unasked question as well. A collective nod and confident smirk were seen on the rookies' faces. "Alright, we'll be arriving at a clearing soon, get yourselves ready, you sorry-ass FNGs!"

China couldn't help but smile a bit on how his CO acts. Among the many soldiers who wished to be just transferred after their time in the Bad Company, Liu and Redford were the only ones who stayed in the squad, effectively making them the 'senior' of the team. Redford treated the Asian as if he was his own little brother, despite the racial differences and the almost ten years age gap between them. Of course, the Sergeant Major himself gave his major respect to the dark skinned lieutenant.

Just a minute later, the UH-1's skids touched the grassy ground of a clearing, dropping down the soldiers inside it. Everyone plopped themselves out of the chopper to an actual land. A seven-man squad, which consisted mainly of rookies assembled on the ground. The Huey took several seconds in, checking the area for any Triple-A flak guns. After making sure that the coast is clear for them to take the skies, the engines of the UH-1 soared back to life.

"This is Vulture 1-1, be advised, Bad Company is on the ground. I repeat, Bad Company is on the ground, RTB to refuel and resupply." The pilot stated over the radio. "Be advised, ground patrol, an hour in, same place for the LZ. Be there, Vulture 1-1 out."

Redford nodded. "Copy that Vulture 1-1, get out of here." He then looked over his assembled squad, and his eyes were planted deep on the Asian. "China." He called out, gaining the attention of the said soldier. "C'mere."

The quiet Sergeant plopped his green, woodland camo'd cap back to cover his short black hair, before walking towards his CO. "Sir?" He asked.

"I want you to round up three guys and scour the East. I'll take two and go to the West, you hear me?"

There was silence before the response. "Sir." Was all the simple and flat reply that came back to him, not even a nod, he turned to leave his lieutenant, but before he was out of reach, Abnormal Survivor felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned back to see his CO, eyes narrowed, slightly glaring at him. "Sir?"

"Look I know that you're still down after what happened today, but I need you to focus for now, alright?" Requested the African-American, which ironically sounds more like a demand to him.

A soured look was visible for a split-second on Liu's face. "I know, sir." For good reasons, he despised the moniker Abnormal Survivor, a title he had earned for surviving many battles while he's in the Bad Company.

"Good kid." The taller dark-skinned man patted the Asian's head. "Alright, Kowalski, and you uh... Pete, right? You guys are with me. Check your weapons for any jams, we'll leave in five for the West, Ooah?"

"Ooah!" Cried the two marines, doing as ordered.

The Asian walked over to the other side of the group. Three young American greens, and their lives are his responsibility for now. "Preston Marlowe, Terrance Sweetwater, and George Gordon Haggard Jr., right?" He questioned, pointing at them.

"Sir, yes, sir." Marlowe, was the first one to respond, making a small salute. "Private Preston Marlowe at your service, Sergeant Major."

Sweetwater's reaction to his name being called was much more laid back compared to Marlowe's. "Yep, that's my name. Short, sweet and falls out of the tongue nicely. Nice to see a new face as our squad leader for a change." He chuckled dryly.

Haggard... he was similar in many ways to sweetwater. "In the flesh, boss. Your demolition man is here to blast some NVA shitheads to kingdom come."

There was some kind of an awkward silence for a few seconds. "...Right... I'm Sergeant Major Liu Li Wen, first name Agung. You guys can call me China."

Sweetwater's eyes sparkled a bit at the introduction. "Whoa, Haggard, look! Our new Sarge's being openly racist, on himself, no less!"

His conversational partner smirked as both of them drew themselves closer to their new, but shorter, leader. "Hey, you're right! So we can call you by nicknames, Sarge? Well, I think I got a good one for ya. How 'bout shortstack? It sounds cool and really goes with your height, too!"

Marlowe was quiet, unsure on what to say on the matter at hand. But deep inside, he liked the whole 'shortstack' thing.

The Asian promptly placed a palm on his face. "Okay, okay... just slow down, people. China is just my universal nickname throughout the field, I'm not trying to be racist whatsoever. Secondly, yes, you can call me by nicknames, but please, no shortstack."

Haggard clicked his fingers. "Oh, but what about-"

"...No midget, shorty, height-lacking, loli, and anything that could potentially insult my physical height. Please." Liu replied with a deadpanning tone.

"Awh, you figured it right through us...!" Groaned the glasses wearing soldier, Sweetwater whilst also dropping his head down slightly, signalling his disappointment.

The more quieter private, Marlowe, cleared his throat to gain some attention. "So... uh, Sarge? What should we do now? Do we have our routes?"

The bearded bombardier, Haggard, pumped his China Lake 4x40 Pump Action limited production grenade launcher ready. "I know! we blow stuff up, then kill ourselves some NVA bastards!"

"We'll have their brains for dinner!" Sweetwater added, cheerily for some reason. "And their sluts for supper!"

A cold sweat ran down from Liu's forehead, as a horrified look was also visible on his face for a couple of seconds. "Uh... no." He shook his head. "Listen up, guys. We're gonna go to the East side of this trail. It's gonna a long road, so I want you guys to stay close to me at all times, alright?" A collective nod. "Good. Now, should we encounter any NVAs, wait for my signal to open fire, we can't just blindly shoot someone right off the bat."

"What if they're armed?" Marlowe asked, slightly tightening the grip on his M16A1.

"Still a no. We need to ID them first as a Charlie before we can gun them down." The Asian-American answered. "Just stay low, keep close to me, don't fire any blind shots, and be very, _VERY_ quiet if you want to survive. Clear?"

"Uh-huh." ; "You got it, boss." ; "Yes, sir."

A satisfied nod was given from the young Sergeant. "Right, Marines, time for Oscar-Mike. Ooah?"

"Ooah!" Cried the rest of the team out loud.

* * *

"Damn it, Sarge, no one ever told me about this, the itch is just killin' me!" Groaned Sweetwater, scratching multiple parts of his body.

Haggard also seems to be supporting the idea by doing the exact same thing, complaining. "This shit is way more worse than eating ten spoons of cinnamon powders!"

Although the young Marlowe did not say anything on the matter, he did stretched his body at some point, probably the itch getting the best of him.

The detachment squad of the Bad Company was scouring the thick forest near the clearing, just searching for some NVAs, who knows, maybe they've set up a small camp nearby, or using it as a guerrilla's base, waiting the perfect opportunity to strike, or maybe just some scouts near Khe Sanh, trying to get some intel by watching the base from afar; of course, to get the layout of the base, and deliver them to the mortar crews at the far ridges. Although the squad looked like they could take more than twenty NVAs at once, they were not prepared to face one true enemy of man...

Mosquitoes. A lot of mosquitoes.

Liu's reaction was nothing more than a shrug with an indifferent look plastering his face. "Just bear with it. You'll get used to it in a few days. Besides, it's a tropical jungle, what'd you expect? Some sexy girls?"

"Well... kinda..." Admitted Haggard sheepishly.

"_God, what did I do to deserve this..._" Muttered the Sergeant quietly under his breath.

Sweetwater raised his head. "What was that, Sarge?"

"Nothing~..." Liu innocently looked straight forward to the thick bushes, ignoring the question.

Marlowe suddenly stopped. "Guys, I can hear something..."

This caused the whole squad to go alert and stop themselves dead in their tracks, and assumed a crouched position, concealing themselves behind the thick foliage the area provides for them. Liu instinctively gave a hand signal for the group to stay quiet, in which they sternly complied. Even Sweetwater and Haggard turned serious after the alarming statement from Marlowe. Whole members of the detachment squad readied their slung weapons, also turning off the safeties.

For once, silence seems to be taking over the group. The only thing that made the noises were the bushes, the strong breeze and the almost infinite amount of bugs surrounding them. One could not even hear their nearly non-existent breathing. As a scout, Liu had spent much time honing his senses, starting from his vision, and down to his ears. A few seconds in, and nothing disturbing seems to be entering his ears. He was about to call off the assumed battle formation of his team, and say that it was only a false alarm, until some noises of thick foliage being shoved out of the way broke the nearly deafening silence.

The Asian narrowed his eyes even further, trying to concentrate on the source, true to him and Marlowe, the noise turned louder and louder with each and every passing second, down to the point where Sweetwater and Haggard could also hear them, strangely, they couldn't hear any sounds of machinery, not even soft footsteps. Just some rattling bushes. If it were really the NVAs, they would be more smarter to conceal themselves as well, but this was just asking for a death wish.

The noise was getting dangerously near to them.

"_Guys... on my mark, we'll storm them, alright?_" Whispered the Sergeant carefully, loud enough for his squad to hear, but not enough for the one who caused the noises.

"_Shit, Sarge, are you crazy...?!_" Sweetwater protested, releasing the safety lock for his M60 heavy machine gun.

Marlowe frowned. "_But... but what if it's a vehicle?_"

"_Highly unlikely, but if it's really a vehicle... then, Haggard, I need you to stand by with the LAW, understand?_" The young Sergeant shot the bearded private a sharp look.

The said bombardier nodded. "_Loud and clear, Sergeant Shortstack._"

"_Alright... One... Two..._" He trailed, before suddenly storming off from their cover with his AR-15 ready in hand, and his finger rested on the trigger. "**_MARK!_**" He yelled, not half-a-second in, his squad was aiming their weapons down on the same general direction of their lead. "**_FREEZE! WE HAVE YOU SURROUND-_**" He suddenly stopped when he saw the image in front of him. "-ed...?"

What they saw afterwards shocked the shit out of them. They're watching a group of girls, eleven girls, to be more exact, just strolling, or rather _floating_, with some kind of weird ass contraptions on their feet. All of them looked freaking young, they can't be older than 20, probably on their early to late teens, to top their heads off, they are not wearing any kind of pants, sure, they're still wearing their undergarments, but still... walking around half-naked in a war-torn Khe Sanh jungle isn't the most typical thing ever. They also noted that their attires were used during the era of the second World War, finally, they're carrying guns. Big ass guns from the second world war. They could identify some of the antiques that were used, such as MG42s, Type-100s, and the list could still go on. But there's this one thing that Liu can't miss while watching them, although some of them were indeed Asian like him, they're not Vietnamese, and the rest of them who were not Asian're either Europeans or Americans.

After the sudden breach through the shadows, there was just silence. The members of the Bad Company were just too shocked at the view of eleven under-aged girls that are carrying big guns of WWII era and walking around half-naked in the jungle, that they kept a straight face on, while the group of floating girls were also surprised at their sudden entry. All of their eyes were still widened as they were just purely stunned at the whole situation that's unfolding before their eyes.

The silence and shock lasted for at least twenty seconds, until the girls decided to take the initiative first by raising their weapons at the US Marines, although some were seen hesitant on doing so. A red-haired woman that looked like she's on her twenties yelled something in a foreign language, Japanese, summed the Sergeant. Looks like she's the one holding the strings here. The hostile action snapped the Bad Company back onto their reality, and they realized that they're outnumbered.

"_What the fuck?!_" Sweetwater snapped, although he contained it in a bare whisper. "_Shit, are we really seeing this?! This is just so FUBAR, man!_"

Haggard gulped as he also switched to his 870 Combat shotgun. "_Sweet Mother of God... I'm... I'm dreaming, am I?_"

"_S-S-S-Sarge? Wh-why are they half-naked...? A-and why are they carrying the guns of World War II...?_" For once, someone ACTUALLY understood the situation they're in.

Liu was still dazed at the confusion, but he forced his composure to go back inside him. The lives of these people are his responsibility. "_Squad, just shut up and let me do the talking, alright? But what whatever you do, DON'T let your finger go from the trigger._" He ordered. "U-uhm... Hello?" He awkwardly began, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

The girls did nothing but kept their aim on the group of males.

"_Shit, this isn't fucking working..._" Muttered the Asian Marine. Then, he got an idea. He cleared his throat, and calmed himself down. "Hello?" This time, his voice sounded dry, but it was definitely Japanese.

The girls were taken off guard by the Sergeant's knowledge on the language. The red haired girl was the one who reacted, though. "Who are you, and what do you want?"

"I could ask you the same thing, ma'am." Replied Liu, letting the sights of his semi-automatic weapon to fall upon the said girl. "What are you guys doing here at a war torn jungle, half-naked, and carrying big guns?"

"Answer my question first, then I'll answer yours." The girl hissed. "Do it, now."

The Chinese-American soldier sighed. "Alright. I'm Sergeant Major Liu Li Wen of the United States' Armed Forces' 222nd Army Battalion, dubbed Bad Company. This is my squad." He paused. "I've filled my part of the bargain, now answer mine."

The girl was mostly confused on the answer she was given. "United States? Bad Company? What?"

"Yes, ma'am, we're from the USAF, the USMC, to be more exact."

The girl went even more confused. "USMC? What are you talking about? Where are we?"

Liu was simply thrown into confusion at the question directed at him. 'Where are they?' Are they really that oblivious? They're currently standing at hell on Earth right now!

The said Sergeant only calmly dropped his assumed battle position, lowering his gun as well, shocking the ones who're watching his moves. "You're at Khe Sanh... Vietnam."

* * *

**For What It's Worth**

**A Strike Witches work of fiction**

* * *

Quote of the Day:

"There's battle lines being drawn; nobody's right if everybody's wrong." - Buffalo Springfield's _For What It's Worth_, 1966. [Song]

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hello there, people, I doubt you have seen me before, so, hello there!

I'm presenting you my first M rated work, For What It's Worth, with the title was based on Buffalo Springfield's song of the same name. I was just trying to mash something up with the already fantastic universe of Strike Witches, I've seen others mashing things up with real life modern timelines, but I've never really seen one fic that featured the Vietnam War in it, so I decided to make one. But since the Vietnam War's shrouded in pretty dark things, I've also decided to make this fic to go to live up to the more darker times on the war.

**_So be warned, there will be massive number of curses, brief mentions of nudity, and moderate number of gores inside this fic._**

**_Note: I don't plan any lemons or any Yuri pairings as of now_**, though. Maybe brief and light sequences, but nothing that could make this fic go out of bounds.

Oh, and I will also be taking some things from some well known games and movies, first of: characters.

The 222nd Army Division and the B-Company is fictional, Redford, Marlowe, Sweetwater, and Haggard are the characters from Battlefield - Bad Company 2, since they're inside the Bad Company, they'll be the major supporting characters for this series, and yes, all of them (Marlowe excluded) are indeed made for comic relief. Copyright goes to DICE and EA.

I only own my OC, Agung Liu Li Wen.

I will also be referencing a lot to movies, for example, Apocalypse Now and Games, like Battlefield and Call of Duty: Black Ops, but don't fret, most of the storyline will still go purely original. And finally, yes, since this is a mini real-life insert, this is obviously an AU.

So uhm... that's it? I hope you kinda... enjoyed this stupid story of mine.

I'm gonna go and do some FUBAR'ed things now.

EX: FUBAR - Fucked Up Beyond Any Recognition, a popular slang in the military.


	2. Welcome to 'Nam, Witches

"You're at Khe Sanh... Vietnam." Stated Liu Li Wen, an Asian-American Sergeant Major of the USMC's Bad Company.

The situation was tensely critical, both for the US Marines and the group of eleven young girls with big, weird shoe-like device on their legs that gave them the ability to float through the jungle area of South Khe Sanh river. The atmosphere would be a one true heaven for the Marines if it wasn't so heavy. The USMCs had their weapons aimed at the general direction of the girls. Marlowe had quietly switched to his nitrogen-fueled M9A1-7 Flamethrower for crowd control, Sweetwater was still keeping his finger steady on the trigger of his M60 MG, while Haggard, although was still stunned at the image of eleven young girls half-naked in front of him, didn't hesitate to pull out his 870 Combat Shotgun for trench engagements.

"Vietnam? What kind of place is this?" The red haired woman asked cautiously, not lowering her weapon even after the male in front her did it.

Liu put his reflective goggles off, revealing his narrow, dark brown eyes. "Yes, ma'am. All of you are at Vietnam right now."

"Impossible." The girl replied simply, almost spitting on the ground while she did so. "We were just fighting the Neuroi over at the Brittanian Ocean a few minutes back... we can't just... teleport ourselves all the way to this... strange jungle. I don't even know what Vietnam is!"

"_What the fuck is a Neuroi...?_" Murmured the Marine under his breath in English, before switching back to Japanese. "I don't think I follow what are you trying to say. But for now, I need all of you to put down your weapons. We can talk this out, ma'am."

The red haired European girl only cocked her weapon, the rest of the girls followed her actions. "No way, you jumped in on us, guns in hand, spouting nonsense about a place we don't know, and then just expect us to believe you? Give me a break."

"Ma'am, please. The area is dangerous, we can continue this once we get back to the base, we can give you some protection." Liu's voice was almost pleading to the girl, but still cold in marine standards.

The woman fired a warning shot. A bullet impacted near his feet. This caused the marines from the Bad Company to almost open fire on the girls, if one was asking, the guys WERE defending themselves, but they were stopped by the Sergeant Major before they could even do it. Liu's face showed obvious signs of shock, but it was still steely enough to produce an even darker and colder expression to the girls in front of him. The Asian raised his hand to stop the squad from firing, and then let it fall back to its original place once the threat ceased.

"How do you know if we can trust you? You could even be a Neuroi spy." The red haired woman said coldly to him.

Liu did nothing but to drop his AR-15 to the ground and took one step closer. "Ma'am, I-"

"Take one step closer, and I'll blow your head clean." The girl threatened. "I'm not joking. Just try me if you dare."

The Asian marine clicked his tongue, showing his irritation. "With all due respect, ma'am, _you're a fucking idiot_." He commented plainly. "Look, I know that all of you are probably not from the 'Nam, true to your race diversity and 1940s weapons, but I think I have to make a few things clear: One, we don't know what the fuck is a Neuroi, Two, look, I'm tired, alright? I've seen more battles than I could count, and I see people die everyday. The thing is, you and your girls are aiming at this squad. _MY_ squad. We know that both sides are heavily armed, and my soldiers got better equipment than yours. If a firefight were to break out here and now, casualties would be unavoidable, surely we don't want that, do we now? Three, I'm not joking as well, ma'am. I'm just here to offer you all a chance to survive in the 'Nam. It's your choice, really. But if you come with us, we can guarantee your safety. Both from the NVA, and from the... Neuroi-things you were talking about." He said in English, not minding to talk in Japanese anymore.

After the somewhat shocking speech, the girls were put back to a halt, probably understanding the language that he had spoken with. The red haired woman was the most stunned out of them all, to think that the most apathetic and dull looking short soldier to suddenly burst out like that. His voice showed no signs of anger nor irritation, but his face does. The emotionless cold glare he gave to each girls made them flinch slightly. The Bad Company were speechless themselves, seeing their leader to just go out and say things like that, especially to a woman. They knew that the voice only belonged to someone who's seen enough battle, and he certainly looked like one, despite his young appearance.

After the prolonged silence, Liu cleared his throat, his face finally showing signs of emotions again. "I'm sorry for my rudeness, ma'am." He bent his head down slightly, once again speaking in Japanese. "I should not do such thing to a girl." He apologized sincerely, before finally going English again. "I understand your answer, and I'll take that as a cue to leave. Bad Company, pick up your gear, we're Oscar-Mike."

Before he could turn his body to leave, another girl, Asian this time, with an eyepatch over her right eye held her right hand up. "Wait." She spoke in an accented English. "Please... wait."

The American marines blinked in surprise, but they complied to her request.

Liu picked his AR-15 up from the ground, dusting it off carefully. "You speak English, ma'am?"

"I do." She nodded.

"Well you could've just told us. It'll be easier for us to speak in the same universal language." Liu chuckled rather arrogantly for some reason.

The eyepatched woman's lips turned into a frown. "I'm Major Mio Sakamoto of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing. We have agreed to come with you marines, but we will only comply on one condition."

"Ask away." The fellow Asian gestured his hand to the air, prompting the woman to continue.

"_Dude... she's a fucking Major?!_" Whispered Sweetwater disbelievingly.

Haggard also seems to be shocked at this. "_What?! Joint Fighter Wing?! Are they supposed to be some kind of pilots or something?!_"

Marlowe kept his mouth shut. His quiet nature kept the young private from saying anything that could provoke the other group.

This earned him a glare from yours truly. "_Shut it, you two. As I've said before, just let me do the talking._"

"You will give us a proper information as well as a place to stay for the time being. We're going to be in here for a while." The girl, now identified as Mio, replied.

Liu nodded, but rather sternly at the request. "I'll see what I can do, Major Sakamoto-"

"**_Họ đang ở đây!_**"

After the sudden foreign language that entered both the USMC and the JFW personnel's ears, a loud sound of gun being fired broke through the Eastern treelines of the area, and a 7.69x33 Millimeter round which was most certainly fired from an Automatic-Kalashnikov model rifle, wheezed pass the group, _this_ close on hitting the lead Sergeant of the Bad Company. The hot round impacted the nearby tree, and it immediately alerted the whole group.

"**_NVA SOLDIERS! GET DOWN NOW!_**" Liu reflexively shouted, making hand signals for the girls to duck as well. "Bad Company, defensive perimeter around the girls, now!"

"Yes, sir!" Marlowe responded, taking in over the South side of the group.

Haggard moved in to the West side. "Finally, some shit to blow up!" He yelled whilst grinning brightly.

"I've been waiting for some action!" Sweetwater assumed a crouched position near the trees at the East side.

Finally, the leader of the detachment squad himself moved over to the North to a vintage point near a downed tree. "Bad Company, weapons free! Take down anything you can't identify as friendlies! Marlowe, get that flamethrower out of your hands, one wrong shot, and you'll burn the whole forest down! Sweetwater, I need you to provide suppressing fire for us! Haggard, just do what you Texans do best!"

"Aye, aye! Switching to rifle!" ; "You got it, Sarge!" ; "I like you already, Sergeant Shortstack!"

The girls were at a state of confusion and disarray, but Sakamoto picked herself off from the ground. "What's happening, Sergeant?!" She yelled through all of the bullets flying through the area.

"It's the North Vietnamese Army!" Liu shouted back.

The Japanese cupped her hands beside her ears. "The North Vietnamese What?!"

"Just keep your head down, God dammit! I'll find a way to get us out of here!" He barked, before turning his radio on. "Lieutenant! Lieutenant Redford, do you copy, over?!" No response. "Lieutenant Redford! Respond!"

Just a few seconds in, a buzz what heard at the end of the channel. "We read you loud and clear, kid! What's wrong?!" A familiar, African-American voice called out form the other end, obviously panicked.

"It's them! We've been ambushed! The whole patrol route is fucked up! We need to get the hell out of here now, and be advised, I have about eleven other stranded personnel that'll need some pickup, over!" The Asian lied through all of the confusion that's getting the best of him.

"Roger that, I'll patch you into the Khe Sanh Baseplate, stand by!" Redford answered hastily, closing the channel temporarily.

Cursing silently for the 'no-instant-save', Liu aimed down the rifle sights of his semi-automatic weapon, the AR-15, his honed eyes scanned through the thick and dense forest for any NVA soldier unfortunate enough to be his prey. His brown eyes picked up a brown straw hat, a North Vietnamese farmer was firing his Russian-made AK-47 blindly through the tress while screaming something foreign in his ears. Liu felt guilty for noticing him, a civilian, out of all people first, but it was him, or them. Without any hesitation, the young sarge pulled the trigger in.

A bullet was catapulted violently from the long, modified barrel of the Sergeant's rifle. The recoil immediately kicked into the back. The rifle was pushed back by the massive force, and the stock of the weapon was pushed all the way back to hit Liu's right shoulder, and then, the force continued to push the barrel of the weapon upwards, then fall back to its original position. If he was being honest, the massive recoil of his weapon was going to make his shoulder sore for a few hours, but it was not the best time to think of such things.

The hot projectile pierced through the straw hat of the farmer, and also penetrated the skull of the latter, some blood flew into the air from the new hole in his head, the sarge could even see some of the NVA's brain parts coming out of from the massive hole on his forehead. It made him sick, but he didn't feel any sense of guilt whatsoever. He was even feeling a bit impressed at his kill. His eyes shifted to over his shoulder, where the girls're still ducking, hiding their heads from the clusterfuck of bullets.

He could see his other squad members, fighting back the Viet Cong with all of their might. Marlowe was firing his M16 in full auto, a bad move for a rookie, but he was just desperate. Sweetwater was just laughing like a maniac as he emptied the whole one-hundred-round mag of his M60 LMG, ripping through the trees, and forcing the hostile forces to take cover. Haggard was cursing and cussing with every single shell of his 870 that was launched over to spray at the enemy.

From all of the chaos that's happening between them, Liu then noticed another NVA soldier going through Marlowe while the soldier was reloading his M16A1 sloppily and heading straight for the center part of the defensive perimeter, where the girls are at. Widening his eyes in realization of the situation, he immediately left his own vintage point and dashed towards the formation of girls. The sarge released the grip on the main trigger, and just held the weapon by its foregrip with his left hand. The Asian-American marine pulled out his long machete that was sheathed over his left shoulder.

Just then, the NVA soldier he had noticed jumped out of the treelines towards the girls, dashing like a madman, with sickles in both hands. Liu could see it in the NVA's eyes. Hatred, bloodlust, completely ignoring the idea of attacking women in the battlefield. There was no choice available to him. He had to put him down. Now. Both men suddenly screamed at the top of their lungs, each giving out their war cries to each other, surprising the girls, and further throwing them into disarray.

The Viet Cong used this chance to run towards a Russian girl with a short gray hair, who was fumbling because all of the confusion that was going on. When the small, albino-like girl realized what's happening, it was too late for her. The NVA soldier swung both of his sickles at full force at the girl. All of the girls could only stare in horror as the sickle wielding man was about to land his blade to end the said Russian girl's life.

"Oh no you don't, you sack of shit!" Growled Liu, as he landed a kick to the NVA's side ribs. One could hear some unhealthy cracks sounding off from his body. The young marksman was also swinging his machete sideways. The bladed part of his long knife cuts through the flesh of the NVA, almost chopping his whole left hand off.

The Viet Cong let out a sharp cry of intense pain, staggering back from the Russian girl the marine had just saved, but he shrugged it off. The hostile Asian returned the kick, right to the chin. Unprepared for the sudden attack, Liu Li Wen was thrown to the back, landing on the hard ground on his back. The latter could even see some stars for a few seconds, dazed by the kick. A sharp and stinging pain was immediately felt when he tried to moan out in pain. But when he regained his senses, the NVA soldier was at the top of him.

The American Marine tried to reach for his AR-15, but it was out of reach. His machete was also thrown away after the sudden kick from the enemy. He also couldn't call for his squad members due to his pained, and maybe broken jaw, courtesy of the same attack, right to the chin. Realizing that his time is nearly over, the sergeant grinned darkly at the soldier on top of him. Fear? He wasn't feeling anything of sort. It was only a state of mind. If it's really is his time, then he's ready.

He prepared himself for an extreme pain on either his chest, throat, or forehead, but it didn't came. The only thing that happened afterwards was the sound of the German's Maschinengewehr-42 ripped through the air, and, not a second in later, around thirty new holes was visible on the Viet Cong's chest. The Indonesian descendant could see his guts and some parts of his enemy's lungs spilled out and on the ground. The NVA soldier fell backwards, dead.

Seeing the body was now motionless, Liu dusted himself off from the ground. China turned to his savior. It was yet another different girl, a silky-pale white haired German with a pair of violet eyes. Her face was filled with horror, disgust, and grief. She also looked like she could just break down and cry soon. The rest of the 501st JFW were pretty much staring at the whole scene with the same expression as the sarge's savior.

The Asian-American marine picked his AR-15 up and cocked it. He approached the gray haired Russian, and knelt beside her. "You... you okay?" He spoke with pain, obvious in his tone of speech.

The girl did nothing but to stare back at him with her brilliantly colored jade-emerald irises, she was in the verge of tears, she was bruised by the sudden attack from the NVA.

"_Shit... she's traumatized._" Muttered the soldier under his breath. "I'll take that as a yes. For now, just stay strong, alright? We're gonna be out of this mess soon." He then turned to the one who had saved him from a certain death. "You... uh... thanks."

Like the Russian girl, this one also did nothing but stare back at him with a dark look.

"_Fuck, this is taking the turn for the worse..._" Abnormal Survivor bit his lower lip. "Anyone here is a medic? I think this girl right here need some help. She's bruised."

A hand was raised from one of the girls. It was a Japanese with short dark brown hair, and she was wearing a sailor's uniform. "I-I am..." She answered with trembling voice, obviously scared and horrified by the event that just happened before her eyes, also colored in dark brown, similar in terms of shade to Liu's eyes.

"Right, you, what's your name, kid?" Liu gestured his hands for her to get to his position.

"Yoshika... S-Sergant Yoshika Miyafuji..." She replied with a hushed tone.

"_A Sergeant...?! She can't be older than fifteen! What in God's name is going on with this fucked up squad?!_" Murmured the Chinese marine. "O-okay... Yoshika, I want you to calm down, alright? A medic can't be in a panicked state when he or she's treating her patients, especially on the field. Just take in some deep breaths... and blow them away... rinse, and repeat."

"O-okay..." The scared girl followed the instructions from the marine.

The said soldier only nodded. "Alright now, I need you to press the wound down, you can do that, right?"

"I... I'll try, sir." Yoshika nodded firmly to the Sergeant Major before making her way to the downed Russian girl.

"Good girl." Smiled the fellow Asian, watching the brunette go. "Bad Company, report in, stat!" He ordered, gaining the attention from the rest of his squad members.

Marlowe had just got his third confirmed kill, he pulled the trigger to see no more bullets coming out from his automatic rifle. "Sarge, I'm running low here!"

"Same here! They're just like flies, they're everywhere!" Added Sweetwater, cocking in the last mag of his M60.

"Where's that damn Evac, boss?!" Haggard called out, firing another shell from his trench gun. "We can't hold them off much longer here!"

Almost instantly, Liu pulled the radio back out. "Khe Sanh Baseplate, this is BC-2-2, do you hear me?!" He was practically screaming.

Just about five seconds in, the static cleared from the channel. "This is Baseplate, we got you, BC-2-2. We got the news from BC-2 Actual just a few minutes ago. Be advised, we have a flight of two Hueys from the Air Cav flying towards your position. They'll rendezvous at the same clearing you were dropped off. ETA ten minutes in."

"We'll all be dead in ten minutes, Baseplate! Make them land in the ground in five! I got wounded and traumatized personnel over here, you guys need to double time it, pronto!" Demanded Liu, frustrated and desperate at his situation.

"We'll see what we can do about that, BC-2-2. For now, just get yourselves down to the RV along with the rest of the squad, kid. Godspeed, Baseplate out." The transmission ended from the other end.

The Sergeant Major switched to his squad's intercom. "Lieutenant, sir?! Air Cav's on the way, we'll get ourselves out of here, meet you at the RV!"

"Roger that, China. We've picked up some movement heading towards your position, looks like your little group alerted more NVA than we've been expecting. Just get your ass out of there, and don't die, you hear me?!" The CO of the Bad Company ordered with concern.

"Roger that, LT. Abnormal Survivor out...!" The Bad Company's second banana shoved the radio back to his pocket. "Everyone, listen up! We're gonna make a run for it! Drop your weapons, just use your sidearm, unneeded things would only weigh you down. On the count of three, I want all of you to follow me, alright?! I'll lead you to the extraction point!"

A collective nod of acknowledgement came as a response. All of the girls threw their antique weapons aside. The Bad Company however, kept their weapons in their hands, since most of their weight, their ammo, were already wasted there, so further dumps would be useless for them. Haggard only threw his M72 LAW recoiless rifle, but not after deactivating the fuse, rendering the weapon useless for further use, should the NVAs decided to salvage their gear.

"One... two... _**THREE!**_" With that, all of the group sprinted forward, following the short sergeant of the US Marines. Marlowe, Sweetwater, and Haggard had their six covered from the enemy. Liu was cutting through the thick leaves and foliage in their way. The girls were having a hard time navigating through the unstable terrain of the rain forest, so their progress was relatively slow. What felt like only three minutes in their dash out of the forest to the clearing felt like forever for them.

Liu could also hear several whimpers and sobs coming out from the girls, all of them are going to be entering the mental hospital if this keeps up. His men were also low on ammo the situation couldn't be worse for the Abnormal Survivor. With each passing second, he could hear more and more bullets being fired at them, and then some more screams in Vietnamese the group could barely understand, but it was pretty much begging for them to die.

Suddenly, someone that sounded American screamed in pain.

"Fuck, Marlowe!" Cursed the Sergeant as he suddenly turned himself back to his comrades. "You girls keep heading North, just run as fast as you can! Sweetwater and Haggard will have your backs, just run as fast as you can and don't look back!" He ordered to the 501st JFW, before running back into the forest.

Not even minding the girls of the JFW anymore, he shoved anything out of his way. The Indonesian-Chinese-American marine saw Preston's body, lying on the ground, but still motioning in pain, much to his relieve. Haggard and Sweetwater were crouching near him, giving some covering fire for the downed private. Marlowe himself was holding his right leg in pain. Fresh blood was dripping out from the wound hole there. He has been shot and crippled.

"Sarge, Marlowe's been hit!" Sweetwater reported, once he confirmed that the approaching figure was his lead.

The said young man only nodded. "Yeah, I can tell. It doesn't really take a genius. How bad is it, Pres?" The Sarge asked.

"P-Pretty fuckin' bad, sarge..." Replied Marlowe weakly. "I think... I think I can't walk... bastards got me by the knee..."

"Shit, boss, what should we do?!" Haggard questioned, panicking at the chaos around them, also barely evading a stray bullet from an AK.

The young sarge shot them a commanding look. "Cover the girls' back. I'll see what I can do about Marlowe right here."

"But-"

"_**GO!**_" Shouted Liu angrily, pointing towards the Northern part of the forest. His two subordinates had no choice but to comply to their superior's order and to follow the 501st JFWs from their backs. Then, the sergeant looked over to inspect the wound on Marlowe's right leg. Blood was still pouring down like it's an endless stream through his knee. The forest's dirty environment could highly increase the chance of one's wound infections. He would have to move him fast.

The Chinese marine pulled our his AR-15 battle rifle, and began firing at any hostile approaching their position. The steamy hot barrel of the gun kept on spouting .223 Remington rounds from the magazine. With each and every shot he fired, it alerted more and more NVA to their position. The two was getting overwhelmed. Marlowe's M16A1 had just fired its last round, forcing the private to switch out to his sidearm, the M1911A1 pistol.

"S-sarge... just go... I'll hold them back here...!" The private coughed the words out in pain.

China only glared down at him. "No way in hell, Private. No one gets left behind. You're gonna get through this alive, alright?!"

"It's useless, Sarge...! You'll only get yourself killed, and my rifle's out too!"

The Asian Marine only chuckled with a dark tone. "You still got one hell of a weapon, Marlowe." He pointed at the downed soldier's flamethrower on his back. "And I'm going to borrow it from you!" He forcefully stripped the M9A1-7 from Marlowe's back and strapped in onto his own. The soldier ignited the flames near the frontal grip of the weapon, and a spark of flame came to life near the barrel. A slight stench of gasoline was also smelt by the two marines.

"S-Sarge, I don't think that's a good idea-"

"Go to hell, Charlie!" Screamed Liu, pulling the trigger of the nitrogen and gasoline fueled weapon. After a few seconds of time lag, a smoke was pushed out of the main barrel of the weapon, and when the nitrogen gas made contact with the small fire at the frontal part of the M9A1-7, a much longer, and larger flame was launched over in a wave to the nearby foliage. The dried vegetation were immediately caught on fire. Those who were unlucky enough to be caught in the wildfire were either burned down to their deaths, or forced to make their way around the fire.

The two stranded marines could see them. NVA soldiers, both young and old, men and women alike screaming in pain as the flamed gasoline pilled their outer epidermis skin off. Revealing a pink underskin beneath their tan epidermal one. One, two, three, four NVA militant fell dead to the ground, also setting them on fire even further by their roasted skin. The smell of burning flesh immediately filled the air, and the sight of the black smoke darkens the cloudy evening skies even further.

Another group of NVA soldiers dashed out from the West, trying to flank the two marines. The group fired their guns to the two. Liu's initiative kicked in. He had to protect both Marlowe and the gas tanks of his newly looted flamethrower. One stray bullet to the back, and boom, the end for the both of them. The Asian-American soldier moved aside, so his back would face Preston's face. A stray bullet suddenly hit the short sergeant by his left shoulder, which made his grip on the flamethrower to falter greatly. He could immediately see his own flesh through the wound marks.

"S-Sarge...!" Marlowe yelled in shock.

Liu straightened himself after the hit which he had just received and re-aimed the barrel of the flamethrower to the group of soldiers. A cold and sadistic smile was coloring his tired face. "Burn motherfuckers..." He chuckled lightly to himself, before unleashing the inferno towards the unlucky line of about three farmers of the North Vietnam. The three militant screamed their hearts out, as their skin was torn inside out by the raging orange flame. "_**BURN IN FUCKING HELL!**_" He swoop the whole treeline clear, leaving nothing roasted carcasses of the NVAs and burning tall grasses.

After his sudden outburst of rage to the hostile faction, the sergeant suddenly crumbled to the ground, signalling the loss of his adrenaline, but he forced himself to stand up. The Asian-American marine made his way back rather gingerly back to Marlowe's position.

"Marlowe..." The young man spoke weakly. "Give me your hand."

"Huh?" The private tilted his head, confused by the sudden request.

"Just give it to me." Liu ordered, and Preston did so. Little did the young private know that the sergeant suddenly pulled him off from the ground and slung the private over his shoulders, using his own back to support the year-younger private's weight. China's knees trembled slightly, not used to the new weight he must endure for the next couple of minutes. After a slight grunt of pain from the latter, he started to jog to the North.

Preston was still taken aback at this. "Sarge? What are you-"

"_No one gets left behind... No one..._" Muttered Abnormal Survivor, cutting the private off.

Color Private Preston Marlowe shocked and impressed, but he was indeed amazed at his new sergeant. Sure he had only known him for only just an hour or so, but he was pretty damn unique to be a squad leader. Friendly by image, short by body posture, probably not even enough to enter military's regulation, dry by sense of humor, serious by sense, veteran by combat experience, and... pretty much horrific by fighting style. He had the skills to lead even though he was a very indifferent type of guy on the field.

Maybe, it was just his lucky day to go out on a patrol with his new superior officer, the Abnormal Survivor.

The light jog lasted for more than five minutes, before the two marines found their way out of the jungle, because, for every few hundred steps the boys took, Liu would always turn back and burn some trees down, in a tactic to slow the NVA before they could follow them to the LZ. Marlowe could hear his detachment's CO muttering something repeatedly in order to give himself some new motivation, and perhaps strength to keep on carrying him all the way to the original clearing of the RV.

The two arrived on the clearing to see the girls along with Haggard and Sweetwater, already using their own sidearm to fend off the approaching attackers from all sides. There was no sign of the Bad Company's main CO, Redford along with the rest of his detachment squad, Pete and Kowalski. Seeing the two survivors that just emerged from the shadows behind the thick forest, the two other marines from the Bad Company detachment ran towards their new private and leader.

"Sarge! Marlowe!" Haggard called out from the distance, waving his arms to the air.

"Holy fucking shit, Sarge, I've never thought you could get out alive from all of that shitstorm!" Sweetwater whistled in all of good humor. "You okay there, guys?"

Liu merely smirked in pain, as he set Marlowe down to be carried over by the rest of his team. "I've been better..." He answered quietly. The sarge ejected the gasoline and nitrogen tanks of his looted M9A1-7 flamethrower and planted the tanks on the ground, he also dispersed the highly flamable gas into the air, making a small makeshift Fougasse mine to slow the Viet Congs down. A shot from any kind of weapon would be enough to set off a forest fire large enough to be seen a mile away.

"Guys, where's the LT?" Marlowe asked as his body was carried over Sweetwater's shoulder.

"Haven't seen him in the last five minutes." Replied Sweetwater sternly, setting his gaze to the West. "Anyway, things are looking pretty grim here, Sarge, how much longer 'till the Evac?"

At the question, China raised his hand to look at his watch. Seven minutes have passed. "Soon." He answered plainly, but still with a noticeable amount of concern in his tone.

"Well, I sure hope so, Boss... because more of 'em are coming in!" Haggard cocked his explosive weapon, the 4x40 China Lake to aim at an open ground. "**_EAT EXPLOSIVE SHELLS, CHARLIE!_**" He shouted, before catapulting the 40x46 Millimeter SR grenade round to the hostile forces approaching them. The round exploded on impact on the ground, sending dust, shrapnel, as well as some mutilated body parts across the air, surprising the squad at the radius of the said weapon.

"Nice..." Marlowe commented, smirking for the first time.

"That's a Texan for you, guys!" The bearded bombardier smacked his chest with his fist, proud at the confirmed kill.

Liu's lips formed a tired smile. "We can brag about our kills when we get back to base, alright? For now, let's just pull ourselves back and wait for the Evac."

"We're gonna be ahead of you, Sarge!" Sweetwater yelled with Marlowe on his back, already jogging back to the girls.

"Hey, guys, wait for us!" Haggard shouted back, also running towards them, also prompting his CO to follow him.

At the main clearing grounds of the forest, the 501st JFW looked like they were instantly shell-shocked by the true and horrifying reality of the Indochina conflict. Two girls from before, the German who had saved the Asian marine by ripping the NVA soldier to shreds with her MG 42, and the Russian girl who was attacked by the same Viet Cong had empty eyes, staring towards the distance, a pretty good chance for them to be developing PTSD was present, and it will continue to develop if they were not treated, and fast.

"Shit, squad, you see those two girls right there? They're having the thousand-yard stare. An early symptom for an actual Shell-shock." Pointed out Liu.

In all of a sudden, Yoshika approached (floated to) them in a hurry. "S-Sergeant Major, your wounds!" She spoke in concern, also noticing the blood pouring out from Marlowe's knee.

"Not right now, Yoshika. Our wounds can wait until we're evacuated, for now just work with the rest of the girls to calm the rest. Major Sakamoto and that red haired woman could help." Suggested the fellow Asian, directing her back to the main formation of the 501st JFW.

"B-but... both of you are losing a lot of blood... I... I can help!" Pleaded the Japanese brunette.

The Indonesian descendant suddenly plopped his right, still functioning arm on Yoshika's shoulder. "Please, your own squad needs more help than us. Just go. We'll be fine, I promise."

The sailor girl in front of him blinked. "Sergeant...?"

"Please." Pleaded Liu back. "You're only one of the three most stable girls in your own squad. Help them out."

Yoshika was silent for a while, as if being hesitant on doing as ordered. "R-right, sergeant. I'll see what I can do."

The marine patted her head once. "That's more like it. Run along now, kid."

Just then, a war cry was screamed out from the Western clearing of the forest, and an African-American soldier dashed out of the shadows, revealing his fucked up body, some cuts, bruises, and slight burnt marks were seen all over his body. Samuel Redford was running to regroup with the rest of his squad. The Americans were finally reunited after the long separation from the patrol route. Although the lieutenant made it out safely from the forest, Pete and Kowalski weren't with him.

"Lieutenant!" Shouted the second detachment in sync.

"Whoa, you look like hammered shit, sir." Sweetwater pointed out to the wounds Redford had all over his body.

"Looks don't count for shit here the jungle, greenhorns. This is 'Nam we're talking about." Redford replied to him.

"What happened to the other guys, LT?" Marlowe asked, noticing the absence of the two other privates.

The lieutenant's expression darkened a little. "Dead." He answered flatly, almost monotone. "Got ambushed after our last radio transmission. Pete got gunned down, while Kowalski was ripped to shreds by those VC bastards."

Haggard gritted his teeth at the grim announcement. "Fuck!" He spat. "Those fuckers are going to pay!"

"Oh, and they will pay, Private Haggard." Redford narrowed his eyes at the anger of his other subordinates. "For now, we just need to get the hell out of here." He said hastily. "Sergeant, how fares the Evac- **_HOLY MOTHERFUCKING CRAP!_**" Yelled the CO, finally noticing the girls of the 501st Joint Fighter Wing.

China cleared his throat. "U-uhm... I can explain?"

"Yes... yes, you will, Sergeant Major Liu Li Wen..." Redford replied coldly to him.

"U-uhm... S-so, you see here... u-uh... my squad and I just kinda found these girls while we're on patrol... they're not from here, you see. E-erh, that's not the most important thing right now, LT, for now, we just need to get them to safety. Some of them are already shell-shocked." Stated the marine. "I promise I will explain everything to you, but for now, they're in need of both medical and psychological attention."

"You know that we have the MAC-V-SOG back in the Khe Sanh base, right? Not forget to mention some snooping CIA ass-hats around too that would kill if they saw something like these girls walking around the base. We'll need to think this out."

Liu sighed deeply. "I know, sir. We may need to pull some hard strings, but seriously, we can't just leave them here."

Redford glared at the younger and shorter sergeant. "You _WILL_ meet me on the base when we have sort this shit out, do we have an understanding, China?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

The group could hear them. Whirring noises getting closer and closer. And, as if fate is smiling upon the group of soldiers on the ground, two UH-1D Bell Iroquis, armed with M134 rotating cannons and 70mm rocket pods on each side of the wing. The green-tan attack transport helicopters were accompanied by an armed AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter from the 1st Air Division. The three flight of helicopters moved their way into the clearing, providing cover fire for the USMCs and the JFWs alike.

One of the two Hueys opened fire upon the approaching NVA forces on the ground, the massive salvo of bullets were quickly followed by the Cobra's M61 Vulcan cannon. The hail of explosive rounds immediately blew the formation of the hostile force apart, throwing them into panic and forcing some more soldiers to run back to the forest to seek cover from the choppers' HMG. Their attempts to retreat were proved a failure when the two choppers let their 70mm rockets fly to the treelines, literally turning the whole wide area to a ruined wreck.

The arrival of the three helicopters was indeed a sight for sore eyes, especially for the American Marines on the ground. Sweetwater, Haggard, and Redford gave out a loud war cry as the two choppers continued to drive the Viet Congs back to the far edges of the clearing and away from the teams. Liu simply exhaled loudly, signalling his extreme relieve on the Air Cav's arrival on the grim situation. Marlowe just smirked brightly at the sight.

The girls were amazed at the image of the unfamiliar machinery giving them cover, and possibly, saving their lives from a certain death. The large vehicles were floating majestically in their place, guns blazing, nearly deafening them out due to the sheer amount of volume produced both from their large, rotor blades, and their heavy weapons. Most of them had mixed opinions on the flying vehicle. Some were scared, some were just simply amazed, some other were confused, and you know the rest.

The marines' radio suddenly buzzed on, signalling an incoming transmission. "Bad Company, Vulture 3-1 here, callsign Ghost Rider. Someone called for the Air Cav?" The Huey that wasn't firing at the NVAs called in.

"'Bout Fuckin time, you slow asses!" Sweetwater was drowned in his own euphoria at the save from the choppers.

Haggard was just firing his China Lake at random, but was still directed at the general aiming place of the two attacking helicopters. "**_YEAH, GET SOME, VIET COCKS!_**"

Redford immediately jerked his own radio out. "This BC-2 Actual, Ghost Rider, be advised, we have wounded and shell shocked civilians on the ground, can you assist on the Evac, over?"

"Ghost Rider copies all, BC-2 Actual. Let 'er rip, guys!" The pilot responded by giving the order to unleash the gun-run from the other Huey and the Cobra accompanying it. "Uh, BC-2 Actual, who the hell are those girls on the ground? I can't confirm their tags."

Liu quickly pulled his radio and turned it on. "Ghost Rider, this BC-2-2, callsign Abnormal Survivor, they're civilians. We need to get them back to Khe Sanh ASAP. I'll explain on the way. Just land and proceed with the Evac."

"If you say so..." The pilot trailed, as if shrugging on the other end. "But those things on their legs will cause some tricky shit, guys." Ghost Rider responded, being hesitant on the landing.

Redford groaned. "Pilot, you just land that damn helicopter before I do that tricky shit right up your ass right here right now."

"Okey-dokey, BC-2 Actual, your loss. Just don't let any CIA agents snooping on my bed just because of this Evac mission, alright?" The Iroquis turned down the power it used on the rotor blades, also lowering the heavy attack-transport helicopter to the ground. "I only got space for thirteen right here. Some of you would have to get on with Vulture 3-2; Fire Stormer over there, got it?" The pilot informed, finally letting the skid to hit the ground. "Ghost Rider is on the ground and officially open for business, guys. Bring 'em in."

Redford saw the Iroquis' landing then turned his face to his second in command. "Alright, the girls and the wounded first. You and Marlowe included, alright? Haggard, Sweetwater, and I can get in the next one. Go!" Ordered the African-American lieutenant.

Even though he didn't like it, the young USMC sergeant agreed with his CO. The girls, Marlowe and himself would need to get some proper medical attention. Once again, Marlowe was slung over by Liu's shoulder. The Asian marine then suddenly remembered the makeshift mine he had planted earlier during his escape from the Eastern forest lines. The soldier turned his back to face the grounded flamethrower on the Eastern clearing. He pulled out his sidearm and fired upon the tanks of the weapon. The results were to be expected, the weapon blew up like a large fireball, engulfing the whole dried plains in a blazing hot inferno, the explosion resulted by the blast mimicked a small napalm strike. The flames claimed some more lives of the approaching, yet unsuspecting NVAs. The action earned Liu multiple stares from the Bad Company.

"Holy crap, Boss!" Haggard whistled to express his impressed state. "That was awesome!"

Sweetwater had to shield his eyes from the blast. "Ditto right there, Hags. That was sure something."

"Don't count me out, guys." An already weakened Marlowe stuck his hand out.

The said marine only smirked. "Just one more for the history books, LT."

"You crazy Chinese Indonesian kid. Get out of here already, you fool." Redford smirked back at him.

China nodded at the prompt given by his lead. He ran with Marlowe on his back to where the girls were at. "Girls, listen up, we're gonna get in that helicopter, alright? They'll get us out of here and back to the American base. Maybe we can figure something out too once we're there."

Mio stood up from the formation of girls, gesturing her long katana towards the Huey. "You heard 'im, Witches! Board that craft!"

"Witches?" Both the marines questioned, dumbfounded by the name called by the Japanese major.

"Oh, you don't know? The official flag name for our fighter wing is the '_Strike Witches_'." Mio responded whilst shrugging, before turning her attention back to the _witches_. "Alright girls, nice and easy!"

One by one, although still too confused at the new and terrifying things around them, the girls of the Joint Fighter Wing made their way to the Iroquis. Starting from the two shell-shocked girls, they boarded the woodland camouflaged attack-transport chopper. Liu did saw the red haired woman which he assumed to be either the leader, or the second in command of the 501st looking at him, still with untrusting crimson eyes of hers. When everyone was on board an accounted for, Mio approached the wounded marines.

"You sure you two're going to be alright?" She asked, with her unpatched left eye watching the wall of flames, courtesy of the earlier explosion.

Marlowe only raspberried her question. "It's just... a scratch, ma'am."

"Well, it IS an everyday occurrence here at the Khe Sanh..." Liu continued.

A small laugh escaped from the Japanese's lips. "Heh... this is world is really indeed strange." She said with minimal emotion, as if the thing also happened in her own world.

The three finally boarded the Huey. Although there were little to no space at all, thanks to the strange leggings the girls had, but they managed to stuff in everyone, including the two US marines on the passenger seats of the UH-1D gunship. Ghost Rider was tricking on with his radio, trying to get in a clear channel with all of the shit that was going down. The rotor blades of the helicopter turned louder and louder, as the heavy hull of the chopper was lifted off from the ground.

"Baseplate? Ghost Rider here. we're in the air carrying about thirteen personnel. The patrol route is gone. We got clearance for the 366th's Hotshots to move in." The pilot tapped the radio on.

Liu, who was listening to his communication with the main FOB cocked his head to the side. "The 366th Fighter Wing? They're here too?"

"Oh yeah, when we heard that the whole patrol route was filled by the NVAs, the base decided to roll out the F4 Phantoms to deliver their payload." Ghost Rider nodded nonchalantly.

Another radio transmission was picked up by the Huey's radio. "This is Viper 1-Actual, callsign Red Rider, we are inbound and on station. You might want to keep your heads down on this. It'll be one hell of a blast. Stand by." The fighter pilot chimed through the open military channel.

At the end of the transmission, three flights of F4 fighter jets flew into the area, delivering their ordnance, namely the AN-M76 Napalm bombs to the vast plains below. The bombs exploded on impact, sending gasoline and sparks alike to fly in all directions, setting everything it touches on fire. The large flames swallowed the whole approaching NVAs, also almost engulfing the two other choppers in the area on fire as well. The spectators from Vulture 3-1, the USMC and the JFW were blown away by the incendiary effects of the weapon.

"Red Rider here, we have confirmed the impact on the target. Have a nice day. Viper 1-Actual out." The F4 pilot called in for one last time before breaking out to fly back to their base.

"Roger, Red Rider. Nice day indeed." Ghost Rider responded. "Let's turn things up now, shall we?" The pilot turned the channel to switch back to the local military radio station, the song _For What It's Worth_ by the band Buffalo Springfield was playing through the speakers.

Somewhat... fitting on their current situation.

Liu rested his head on the seat of the Iroquis, closing his eyes in both pain and exhaustion. "_Heh, what more can I say...? Welcome to 'Nam, Witches._" He muttered to himself. "_Enjoy your stay._"

* * *

**For What It's Worth**

**First Chapter: Welcome to 'Nam, Witches**

* * *

Quote of the day:

"I had prayed to God that this thing was Fiction." Private Varnando Simpson of the Charlie Company, 23rd Infantry Division, 1969.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

I've never thought that this story would rack up some reads quickly, while it's rated M too, no less! Anyway, thanks for those who have followed and reviewed this story. I really appreciate them :)

And wow, holy crap. This is one long ass, chapter, if you ask me. I don't usually do long chapters, but eh. So, as you've probably guessed, this story follows the 3rd Person Point of View from the US Marines' second detachment squad from the Bad Company, this story sill revolve around them (but mostly my OC because I'm a selfish and arrogant bastard), and their interaction with other soldiers and / or witches alike.

Oh, right, I'm sorry in advance too if I somehow got too OOC on some characters, I'm too lazy to learn all of their personalities lol. And I'm sorry too that I can't introduce all of the characters from the Strike Witches yet in this chapter. I like to start things slow, but don't worry, all of the witches will get their time to shine as the story progresses. Oh, and there's more things that're added in the chapter, characters and such.

- Ghost Rider of the Air Cav, is fictional. He's a character from Bad Company 2.

- Red Rider of the 366th Wing is also fictional. He's a minor character in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

The 366th Fighter Wing is real though. And they still exist up to this very day.

And finally, for the record, this is my very first time writing an M Rated fic due to gore, language, blood, death, and such. So I'm pretty much a novice, don't go hard on me? :(

Well, that's it, I suppose... I hope you enjoyed the story. Stay FUBAR, guys.

Traesto :)


	3. Arrival at Khe Sanh

Private James Ramirez of the 75th Infantry Regiment, also known as the 75th Ranger Regiment - Airborne, was never really a talkative one in the field. He knew that he was winning on the small game of poker his small squad had, but never said anything throughout the entire session, losing or winning. His opponents? Corporal Smith Dunn, and Sergeant Alex Foley, both of them from the same unit he had been assigned to, the Hunter-2-1. He knew that he was the youngest and the had the lowest rank in his squad, but it really didn't mind the Mexican-American ranger.

It had been raining for a while there at the Khe Sanh base. With most of their activities put to a halt, and their shift over, the rangers pulled themselves back to the nearest shelter to cover themselves from the rain. The soldiers from Hunter-2-1, were just blowing some steam off inside one of the larger but vacant hangars. The hangar itself was supposed to hold some fighters for the 336th recruits, but the shipment was ultimately put to a hold due to the constant shelling to the base from the NVA forces, so the place was just still sitting dry.

Bored, the rangers from Hunter-2-1 did the most typical thing to pass the time. Some gamble via poker. What's the catch? Their MPCs, or Military Payment Certificate. One could pay for something at the base with those things. Although Ramirez himself wasn't really excited for the game he had agreed to play it anyway. He was too bored. Just watching the constantly falling rain from the darkened night skies and the UH-1D circling on the air was just too bland for the private.

"Alright..." Dunn spoke to no one in particular, before pushing all of his MPCs to the center of the small table. "...I'm all in." He said with obvious hints of confidence in his own card.

Foley scoffed, closing his card. "Well, I'm out. No one ever really bets that high. My cards're pretty crappy too."

Ramirez just stayed in his usual silence, but he also handed all of his MPCs in. This certain action earned him a whistle from his Sergeant and a smirk from Dunn.

The said corporal maintained his smirk at the private as the last card opened itself out. "Feeling lucky are you, Ramirez?" Dunn then proceeds to open the two cards in his hands. "Well, here we go, three of a kind." He declared, already sensing the victory in hand. "Beat that, kid."

Ramirez didn't react at all at the corporal's statement. He only put his cards down, revealing a full house, which in turn, caused Dunn to look at his hand disbelievingly, and bit angry as well.

"Ah, fuck!" Cursed Dunn, throwing his cards away.

Foley chuckled. "Well, I'll be damned, son. I think you really earned those credits. You managed to knock in some sense to this knucklehead when it comes to poker games."

The two superior rangers could only blink when their private wasn't paying any attention to their chatter, instead, the young Mexican-American soldier was staring at the darkened skies, not even minding to take his winning money. The quiet ranger seems to be staring intently at something, so hard, that the private squinted his eyes to focus on the image he's trying to capture on the almost pitch-black darkness of the outside.

"Ramirez? You're seein' something, man?" The Caucasian corporal asked, trying to get the private's diverted attention.

Ramirez pointed towards the distance, when the two other rangers followed his finger, they saw a UH-1D Huey Gunship just hovering above the base, as if hesitating to land.

"A Huey, up this late, in this weather too?" Foley questioned a bit curiously.

Dunn merely raised his shoulders before letting them fall down again. "Probably just a simple patrol. Look, they're coming in to land now, anyway."

* * *

Sergant Major Halim/Agung '_China_' Liu Li Wen slowly opened his eyes. How long has he been out? A few minutes? Hours, maybe? The main reason why the young man felt so weak was probably because of the massive blood loss from the wound on his left shoulder. He was just woken up from some light taps on his right shoulder. The USMC Scout groaned in discontent, or maybe, pain as well as his head shook a in a bit of disorientation. He turned to his right to see the pilot of Vulture-3-1, Ghost Rider.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. We're just over the base." The pilot called out.

"Shit..." Groaned Liu, holding a hand up to his head. "How... how long have I been out?"

Ghost Rider shrugged. "A while, I guess. We've been playing the waiting game for a few hours. I need the base to quiet down a bit before I can actually land this baby. God knows what will happen to the base when they saw these girls just hanging by the door."

After the pilot finished his sentence, Liu's brown eyes went wide. "Fuck, what about Marlowe?! He's wounded too!"

"Don't worry. Both of your wounds have dried up. Nothing life threatening, but you two might feel a bit woozy for a while, though. That's a lot of haemoglobin wasted on the floor." Answered the Huey pilot with an indifferent tone. "The girls are fine too... I guess."

The marine gave him a questioning look. "You guess?"

"Most of them are pretty much taking in the view right now, not really showing anything regarding our earlier engagements." Ghost Rider once again replied with his usual flat tone.

The Asian sergeant glared at the pilot. "How about the two girls that're shell-shocked? That young Russian girl and her friend. The German or Finnish girl, I think."

"They're still pretty shaken up, but have calmed down considerably over the past times... sir." A new voice chirped from the left, and when Liu's face did a 180 turnaround, he saw his subordinate, Private Marlowe, just sitting on the empty passenger seat with a weak smile, dried blood visible on his right knee.

Liu sighed. "Damn... how about the rest of the squad, lieutenant Redford and the guys?"

"They're already feet dry on the ground. Fire Stormer got them safely back to the Khe Sanh base just a few minutes before us." Ghost Rider quipped, not breaking his eyes from the base's landing place. "Oh, right. I'm probably going to land this girl back at your dad's workplace too, China. Hangar three, if I'm not mistaken. I think he's the only person we can trust for the time being. I've already told your CO regarding this, and they said that they'll meet you there, but I doubt they'll be able to do it. They'll have to go through some debriefing and some tedious status reports to the base commander first."

Liu promptly sighed again, in deep relieve this time. "Ghost Rider, you have no idea how much do I owe you for this. Please remind me I need to buy you some cigarettes as well as a can of beer once we're back."

Marlowe tilted his head. "Your dad, sir?"

Ghost Rider nodded slowly, also grinning behind his pilot helmet. "Yup. This kid's dad is working as a mechanic back at Khe Sanh. And, oh shucks, Abnormal Survivor, you don't really have to buy me anything. I'm doing this to cover my own ass from both the MAC-V and the CIA too."

"Please. I insist." The Indonesian-Chinese marine replied flatly, almost forcing it.

The Huey pilot gave a mock thoughtful hum. "Well... if you say so. I can't really say no to my smokes, too. But hey, both of you are welcome to it too, alright?"

While Marlowe smiled at the offer, Liu shook his head to refuse it.

"Nah, I don't smoke. _Pa's the one who smoke a lot_." Liu admitted quietly, muttering the last one out.

"Yeah, yeah... I got you, China. Trying to be clean and shit..." Chuckled the pilot. "Alright... we're gonna land at the back door of the hangar. You get the girls set for the landing. I'm still trying to get a perfect position so I'll not scratch the hull."

Liu nodded once, giving an approval to the older pilot, before turning his face over his shoulder to see the cabin area of the chopper. His goggles-protected brown eyes saw the image of eleven girls, some of them already passed out, probably due to massive stress, and the ones who are not unconscious were either looking exhausted or scared. The only ones that looked pretty '_normal_' were Yoshika, Mio, the red haired woman, an orange haired lady that looked like an American, a small Italian with a set of pigtails, a German with long brown hair, also tied up to a set of pigtails, and another German with a short blonde hair.

Of course, by normal, he meant the ones that seems to be taking in all of the events without having _WAY_ too much problem. Of course, they're still either confused or a little bit scared, but not as worse as the other girls. Yoshika seems to be taking in the words from the American Sergeant Major carefully. Even though she looked frail and weak, one's words could do some good to her. The others... well... Mio and that red haired German as well as the other one with the brown hair beside her were steeled enough, probably the mental training as a soldier did them good.

The three others... much to Liu's surprise, amusement, and probably horror, they looked kinda laid back about all of this, but still seemed pretty weak too.

"Girls? Girls...?" He asked up, trying to wake up the sleeping members of the 501st, and getting the attention from the other girls.

"What is it, sergeant?" Yoshika was the one to reply the question by asking another question back to him. "Are we there yet?"

A nod came as a reply. "Yup. We'll be landing back behind our base's hangar in about a minute or two. Now... uh, it's already nighttime, so the darkness should provide us some cover when you guys sneak into the base... I uh... I hate to say this to you girls, but for now, my Pa's hangar is the only place you can be truly safe. Once we're on the ground, I want all of you to just enter through the back door of the hangar, and if you can... can you guys also... put those large leggings off? Just... just don't attract any attention, okay?"

The same red haired woman that had argued with the sergeant earlier glared at him. "Sneak into the base? Are you implying that we're like spies or something?"

"N-no, not at all, ma'am... it's just that, the people here... they're not exactly familiar with all of your... things, especially my country's Intelligence Division. _They'll tear your body apart to know what the hell are those things you're wearing to make you float..._ So until we have a green light, I really suggest you guys to just lay low. My Pa's a good man. I'm sure he'll understand it." Liu hastily answered, obviously recognizing the authority in her voice.

"Hmph." The woman scoffed, looking away with an irritated look crossing her pale face.

"..._And that's what we get for saving their lives? Not even a thank you?_" Murmured Marlowe.

Liu almost responded to the private's question, but refrained from saying anything. "Uhm... if you girls want to hear about our share of information, just meet with me when we've sort this out, okay? I'm... I'm sorry for the confusion too... but for the record, all of us are as just confused as you are right now."

As if timing for the perfect cue, the UH-1D Iroquis' skids touched the cold, wet dirt grounds behind Hangar three of the Khe Sanh base, the supposed safe haven for all of the American troops in the vicinity. Fortunately for them, it seems the shelling have stopped for the day because of the hard rain. No casualty was reported in that day. Everyone was accounted for and ready at the long and divided trenches scattered throughout the large base. The Huey's rotor blades promptly powered itself down, finally reducing the volume.

"Heads up, people. We have arrived at the Khe Sanh base." Ghost Rider informed. "Thank you for choosing Vulture-3-1 Air, please watch your step and enjoy your vacation here at Vietnam."

Liu was the first one to open the door that leads to the outside from the front seat of the Huey. Stepping outside for the first time in like hours after the last engagement, the young sergeant took some deep breaths. His knees felt weak and he was also slightly dizzy, probably due to the blood loss from the earlier injuries. The rain immediately soaked into his woodland camouflaged uniform, and his left shoulder started to sting again due to the sudden entry of the foreign water body into his body through dried wound hole.

He felt like crying for some reason. He didn't know why. He felt happy but also a bit sad at the whole situation. Tears didn't come out from his brown eyes, but it was also thanks to the sergeant looking upwards at all times, watching the dark rainy night. No stars were visible, and the base was calm. It's almost like the rain had stopped every single activity of the Khe Sanh base and its large airfield. It was... strange, to say the least.

In front of him, was another place that Liu Li Wen could call home. Hangar three. The large, boxy structure was also the place where his father resides as a mechanic for the United States' Armed Forces. The sergeant would occasionally visit his father after some missions, most of them seeking comfort after the loss of his teammates. And that time... he thought that he would need the old man's help more than ever.

Shifting to his left, he could see the girls slowly exiting the chopper's cabin spaces, promptly turning on their... strange floating devices again. They silently made their way to the inside of the hangar through the back door. Yoshika, Mio, and the others who actually recognized Liu gave him an appreciative smile, which the said soldier tried his back to smile back even through the excruciating pain that's beaming all over his body.

Out of all the girls who just kept walking pass the marine, the red haired woman from earlier stopped to turn back to face him.

"Sergeant, I know it's probably too late, but forgive me for my rudeness from before... and... I just want to say thank you for saving us." The woman said sincerely, with only a little sprinkle of emotion present in her tone.

The USMC personnel blinked, his mouth moving to an incomplete frown. "It is of no concern, ma'am." He said, also with little emotion, typical for a soldier.

The woman nodded before turning her face to the hangar. "Minna."

Having caught off guard, the Abnormal Survivor blinked again. "Huh?"

"Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke of the 501st '_Strike Witches_' Joint Fighter Wing." She repeated. "That's my name."

Noticing that he was in the presence of someone that's much higher ranked than him, Liu cleared his throat. "R-right... it is a pleasure to meet you ma'am."

Once again, Minna only nodded, before walking inside with the rest of the 501st Witches. He counted about... ten girls have walked into the dry area. Wait. Ten? Wasn't there supposed to be eleven witches? Panicking slightly, the Sergeant Major looked inside the chopper, to see it was already vacant. He turned to see Marlowe, who only pointed to his right. Slowly turning to his right, he saw the German with the short blonde hair. Up close, he could see that her eyes were dull black. Thanks to her floating state and her big leggings that gave the girl some extra height, the sergeant had to look up to get a clear view of her face.

She was grinning, although tiredly. For Liu's own record, she looked pretty young, probably about three to four years younger than him by physical age. "Don't let it go over your head, Sergeant."

Shrugging, the sergeant scoffed at her comment. "Oh, trust me. I'm trying."

"The Commander is always like that. Just give it a few days, and she'll be just fine. And, once she thanks someone, she really does mean it." She spoke quietly, most probably due to the lack of distance between them. "Oh, I'm Erica. Flying Officer Erica Hartmann, by the way."

Liu looked back to the hangar, diverting his eyes elsewhere. "Right... it's nice to meet you, Flying Officer Hartmann. Well, you better get yourself in too. The rain's getting harder." Observed the young marine, once again, sky-gazing.

Erica just nodded once, but still maintaining the tired grin on her face. "Yup, see ya later." She floated away from him, but turned back to face him one last time. "You can just call me by my first name though. Seriously, sergeant. You're older than me...!" She spoke with an increased volume. "Oh, and thanks for saving our butts, too!"

"Yeah... Erica..."

For once, someone actually thanked them for the save. With a tired look, the young man used his cleaned hands to rub his dirty face. He looked back to check up on Marlowe an Ghost Rider. Both soldiers were watching with an amused look. While Marlowe's eyes just turned a bit wider than usual, Ghost Rider was smiling widely from ear to ear. And that smile was indeed a mischievous one, much to the annoyance of Liu.

"Don't get your hopes high, yet, China." The pilot smirked playfully. "You'll still have to bail some few serious asses out first before you can go out and pick your harem."

The Chinese marine sighed. "I'm not physically attracted to any of them yet."

Marlowe blinked. "...yet?"

"...And probably never will, private... _probably never will_." Added the soldier a bit sadly. "Now let's get your feet dry too." The sergeant returned to his usual stoic self, also picking Marlowe from the seat of the Iroquis and to his back. "Thanks for the ride, Ghost Rider. I'll see you later."

The Huey's rotor came back to its loud state. "Uh-huh. See ya'll later too. Don't forget 'bout the smokes, a'ight?" With that, the UH-1D gunship flew away to the main hangars to get himself some R&R.

"Right..." The sergeant slowly muttered, walking to the hangar with Marlowe on his back. When the two marines' entered the back room of the hangar, their eyes were greeted of the girls, _actually_ being half-naked in front of them. They had took off their strange metal leggings from their feet, and those strange contraptions were just resting over at the edge of the wall. Without their leggings, they actually look pretty short, and those legs... ...and finally, because the two were new to the situation, the results were as expected.

Marlowe turned a bit red, while Liu simply looked away out of respect (and embarrassment). The girls understood their reaction, but seeing how easy they reacted against the two males, the marines' could only imagine (in horror) that this happened in a daily basis over at their own 'world'. The two had to take some time in silence, as if berating themselves for being embarrassed in front of the girls, because most personnel in the base would kill to see a group of girls walking around with only their panties on.

"Enjoy what you are seeing, men?" Mio's accented English came around their ears, which in turn, embarrassed them even further. The Japanese witch let out a half-hearted laugh. "Heh, well, we witches are always like this, so you better get used to it, whether you like it or not."

Liu frowned. "E-erh... right, we better get some rules grounded about this, though." He said to himself. "Okay, all of you are here... good. Alright girls, I need you to stay here for just a few minutes, okay? I'm just gonna go and pull some strings with my Pa in the main hangar room."

Yoshika approached them around the corner, almost surprising them too. The small Japanese girl looked at both of the marines' injured state with worry flooding her brown-amber colored eyes. "S-Sergeant, I think we should take a look at your wound first."

The fellow Asian shook his head. "That's okay, kid. We'll live through this."

"But... I can heal both of you with my magic, and it'll only take a minute. So... please. It's the least I can do for you." Pleaded the girl.

There was silence. A long, uneasy, and deafening silence.

"...What?" Both of the soldiers questioned in perfect sync, trying their best to not let their jaw drop and hit the floor. Their eyes were slightly widened, their mouths were gaping a bit, and their heads were tilted to the side. An obviously dumbfounded expression was coloring their faces, especially when they heard the word magic. First, there's the high-ranking young girls floating with their weird metal leggings, claiming to be in some sort of a Joint Fighter Wing, now what?

Yoshika, realizing their reaction, backed away slightly. "W-was it something I said...?" She asked, a bit guilty.

"M-Magic... you said... magic..." Marlowe pointed out, slightly stuttering.

Mio only chuckled. "For such advancement in weaponry, all of you are still primitive to some things, huh?"

"I-I think I'm lost at this. Somebody care to explain...?" Asked Liu, also stuttering himself out.

Minna suddenly piped up. "There's a reason on why we are called '_Strike Witches_'. We are _Witches_, a one in a thousand being born with high magical powers. shortly, in every thousand girl that's born into this world, there's only one of us. We are an extremely rare, but well gifted when it comes to magical properties. Those things that we were wearing on our feet are called '_Striker Units_', an experimental flying unit that could only respond to one's magic. We are like... Witches wearing Strikers, hence the name, Strike Witches. ...Please do tell me that Witches... no, let's just scratch that, do tell me that magic actually existed in here."

"No... magic actually existed in here... but we've never thought it could be used in such ways." The sergeant hummed, impressed and amused at the same time.

Mio just smirked. "If you need even further proof... we have Sergeant Yoshika Miyafuji right here." She gestured to the smaller and younger Japanese girl. "Go on. Show 'em what you're made off."

Yoshika shyly made her way to the two wounded marines. "U-uhm, each Witches are blessed with a power. Mine is healing. I-I'll try to demonstrate it as best as I could... sorry if it stings a bit, though."

The young Japanese Witch went over to Marlowe first. He just stared at the younger girl with a curious expression. Yoshika closed her eyes, as if concentrating deeply. And in cue, a pair of two light brown ears of a Shiba dog came out of her head, and a light brown tail, also from the same species of dog also came out from her back. This nearly freaked out the two marines, but what made their mind blown away was when the girl started to produce some soft blue light from her hands.

What's even more surprising, the soft blue light, although slowly, but still, surely, healed Marlowe's wounds. The hole it received from the shot earlier suddenly closed itself up, the cells of the skin began to regenerate, and when finally it closes up, the outer epidermal skin regained its lost colors, as if also restoring the private's lost blood cells. When the process was finished, Yoshika opened her eyes, but she looked considerably tired.

"Wh-what the fuck just happened?" Marlowe questioned, standing up, and much to the USMC's surprise, he could walk like nothing ever happened to him and his leg.

"A-Animal ears..." Liu looked like he's going to pass out under the massive stress and confusion. "_The CIA agents are going to fucking kill me..._"

At this, Erica chirped into the conversation. "Oh, you don't know, sarge? We Witches have a familiar too. Our animal features showed themselves out when we're using our magic." She explained with a very dull tone.

Yoshika moved to the other marine. Since the Sergeant Major was considerably shorter than the other marines of the Bad Company, the Japanese wouldn't have to raise her heels to reach for his shoulders. Once more, the little girl started to do her magic on him. Liu felt some stinging pain on his wound, but it quickly relaxes itself. Like Marlowe, the wound closes up rather quickly, and his skin also regained his former tanned color.

After finishing her work, the young Japanese witch's knees trembled, but before she could fell down, Marlowe was holding her back. Exhaustion was evident in her face, and in prompt, she blacks out. Marlowe had caught the falling witch and he set her down on the nearby floor. The unconscious witch was sweating heavily, even after soaked by the cold rain. The two recently healed marines were colored impressed at the exhibition of the power.

"She's exhausted." Marlowe informed simply.

"Same old girl..." Minna commented flatly. "She's always like that. Ready to risk her life to save others."

Liu was sweating down some cold beads as well. He knew that he can't just simply tell a lie with eleven girls at the base. Although they should be safe at Hangar Three for a while, news are bound to spread out. And once they reached the CIA's ears, things would go south, both for the marines, and the Witches. America was desperate. They would do anything to gain this new information that could also potentially increase their military power.

"G-Girls... I need to have a moment with my Pa. I need to sort this thing out. I'll call you all when it's all clear, okay?" The Sergeant Major requested. "Pres, you watch the back door. No one from the outside, excluding our squad and Vulture-3-1 gets in, got it?"

The Private did a small salute to his detachment's CO. "Aye, aye, sir."

* * *

Liu opened the door that leads to the main large room of Hangar three. The Sergeant Major plopped his reflective goggles off and put his cap away, letting his short black hair to just flow freely. Slight strands of bangs hovered above his forehead, but the young man swept them away. He was inside his father's workplace. There was a single, lone F4 Phantom II with a modified paint-job. Although the main hull was still colored in the force's red-white-blue paint, The nose had a sticker resembling a dragon's mouth, and the words '_Palu Cina_' which roughly translates to '_The Chinese Hammer_' from Malay/Indonesian language was written on the left side of the plane, just below the cockpit's side.

He could see him. His father. A pure Indonesian by ethnicity, true to his dark-tan skin color. He was a middle-aged man. The said adult was tinkering with the lone F4 fighter plane. There was no one else there. Just him, and the fighter. Usually, Liu would just came in, running to his dad, but now, he had to be cautious. He was pushed to the point that he could only trust himself. He can't even trust his squad anymore regarding the Witches in their base.

"_Pa...?_" The marine tried to call out, but he only sounded like he squeaked it out. "P-Pa...?" He asked again, louder this time.

Tjandra Buntoro, a fifty-one year old senior mechanic peeked his head from the side of the plane. The adult man's dark brown eyes, much darker than his son's also dark brown-amber eyes sparkled a bit when he captured the image of his own pride and joy, coming home from a certain death. The man dusted himself off, also patting his own black hair to clear out some dust or oil that managed to stick to him. He was wearing a usual mechanic's attire for the force.

"Halim! You're back!" He exclaimed in surprise, jogging lightly to his short son. "I was so worried when the whole mission went south! You okay there?" Smiled Tjandra. "What's wrong, kid? It's not like you to suddenly enter from the back door."

Halim/Liu shook his head. "Yeah, that's the Bad Company in the 'Nam for you, dad." He replied sternly. "And... no, I'm not feeling 'okay' right here. We... we need to talk... like... right now. It's about something..."

His father's smile faltered slightly. "What's up? Another one died?"

"Not that... but..." Liu trailed off, "Look... it's hard to explain... b-but..."

Tjandra wiped the dust from his face to get a more clearer view of his currently distressed son. "But what?"

"P-Pa... I don't know what to say. I'm confused. And probably a bit scared too. It... it all happened way too fast... and... and I-I..." The short marine stumbled over his own words, with each stuttered word that came out from his mouth, it became really evident that he was mentally exhausted.

The middle-aged man only approached his son to pat him on the head. "Slow down, Halim." Spoke his father quietly but with a soothing tone. "Calm down, and just tell me what happened. I got time to kill."

"O-okay..." For once, the sergeant looked like he was actually going to cry. "L-let's... let's sit down... th-this might take a while." He pulled a small chair from the hangar's corner.

The explanation from Liu was swift, but also at the same time, heavy and rather complex for his father to understand. His boy usually talked about something regarding his day or an event that has something to do with his squad. But his story about the new things that had happened during that day truly shocked Tjandra right to his bones. It would usually take a lot for his son to snap, but this... it was too much for him to handle it alone. The boy even added that he had his doubts about telling the matter to his father.

The Indonesian mechanic was speechless for a couple of minutes. His dark brown eyes were just staring down at his boy. He was not glaring on him, but his stare was still pretty sharp.

"I... I'm gonna need some help, dad." Liu said with full sincerity. "I'm... I'm scared. I don't know what'll happen to me... I mean us, if words were to spread out." He admitted, obviously sounding in fear. "Th-the CIAs... they'll... they'll... Oh God..."

It really pained Tjandra to his own son, Halim, like this. The usually stoic marine was in the verge of breaking down. Like father, like son, Tjandra was calm. Liu himself had his face buried in his gloved hands, not making any form of sound at all, probably trying to fight all of the stress he had received during the day. The Chinese Hammer, being an F4 Phantom and all was the only silent spectator from all of the stressful talk. Silence stayed in the room for a while.

"So, are you saying that they're from another world, Halim?" The mechanic finally asked, not trying to show any emotion.

A muffled '_hm-mph_' came as a response, before the marine actually raised his head. "That's only my hypothesis, but... considering they got some pretty fucked up powers, I think it's undeniably true that thy're from a different world from ours."

His father sternly looked at him. "Bring 'em in. I think it's about time we get some answers. I'll see what I can do about them after that."

"A-alright... thanks, pa." Liu stood up gingerly from his seat, also slightly wobbling around.

* * *

"Girls, meet my dad. Senior mechanic of the marines, Tjandra Buntoro. Pa, meet the girls... and Marlowe too. He's right there on the back." Liu had just shown his father the new group of girls he and his squad encountered back in the afternoon. "Don't worry. He won't bite, and we can trust him."

Tjandra gave a slight nod of acknowledgement to the girls. He was still rather surprised to see that his son wasn't lying after all. A group of eleven girls were at his hangar! The 501st Witches themselves were just trying to take in all of the view of the large, but still vacant hangar. They snapped their heads left and right, scanning and studying their new surroundings. But most of their eyes were planted deep on The Chinese Hammer, considering the fact that it was the only plane present.

"So you are the girls from the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, also known as Strike Witches, eh?" Tjandra questioned, putting a hand up to his chin. "It's nice to meet you all, but we have little time for pleasantries. My boy here had explained everything to me, and it seems, our situation's pretty grim."

Mio stared at the mechanic. "Yes, it is, senior mechanic, sir." The Japanese nodded. "But for now, before we answer your questions, we'll need some explanation from your side."

Liu sighed tiredly, knowing that his night was still far from over. "Oh... right, I did promised you that, huh?" He asked to himself. "Uh, let's just start with a proper introduction, alright? We haven't really got the chance to get properly acquainted yet. I'm Sergeant Major Liu Li Wen of the United States Marine Corps. I have two first names. The first one is Halim, a Malayan given name from my Pa, while the other one is Agung, spelled '_A-Gong_'[_Hanzi: _啊弓] [_Ah-Kong in rough and literal spelling_] a Chinese name from my Ma. Just call me Liu. And... that's another name given from my grandfather."

Minna nodded. "Well, Sergeant Major Liu, I believe we've known your name since our time in the jungle. Now can you please explain the things needed for us Witches to understand?"

"Well, this might take some hours to get you girls up to speed. But I'll keep the story brief. Since most of you are wearing clothes from the 1940s, I'll just ask if anyone here from a country called Germany?"

No one answered. They instead gave him a questioning look. Then he realized that he's speaking to a literal alien.

Liu decided to start everything from the second world war. "Nevermind Germany. Anyone here knows a man called Adolf Hitler?"

A few nods came in as a response, but Erica was the one who replied to the question. "Oh, right, that famous pacifist painter. He's from my country, Karsland. I like a few of his art."

Then, comes the hard part. Liu knew that the girls from this 'Karsland' country were not going to take it lightly when the actual Adolf Hitler of his world started the whole Second World War, killing many innocent civilians, and most notably, the massacre of the Jewish people all around Europe, not to mention, being a mad dictator who had his own plans to rule the whole world under the Nazi-German's Third Reich's order. This caused him to develop a slight pang of guilt inside his chest. The pain even magnified itself when he saw that some girls like Minna and Erica were in fact, a German.

"Well... uhm... how do I say this... your Adolf Hitler is quite different than mine to say the least. I'm sorry in advance, and I really do regret to inform you this information... but Adolf Hitler in our world proved to be a mass-murdering man from Germany. An equivalent to that Karsland country of yours. In... in our world, he declared war against the world, going as far as massacring millions... billions... maybe trillions of people around the globe."

Every single girl's eyes went wide in shock and disbelieve.

"_... This is so Goddamn hard._" Muttered Liu to himself. "He... he was the main pioneer of the Second World War. The said war was the biggest conflict up to date, since it pretty much involves almost every single country on Earth. Many superpowers, like America, Japan, Russia, and others were forced to fight. I don't know what are they called in your world, but... the results were pretty devastating. And it was done by the hands of one man. After the Germany's downfall in 1945, the world was once again at peace... at least until now."

Marlowe noticed the tired look on his CO's face.

"...This, is Vietnam. We soldiers are tasked here... to... to eradicate the communist out of the face of this planet. Communist is... uh... it's hard to explain. But for some people, they're the _bad guys_ in the Cold War. Right... the Cold War. It's more like a banter and pissing contest between the East and the West, competing with their technology and stuff. I suppose you girls already knew what the hell is going on in here after your first taste of combat against the NVA. North Vietnamese Army, NVA for short, is the main opposing force in this conflict. They're supported by most of the communist countries all across the world. While we, the anti-communist forces are mainly composed of soldiers from United States, United Kingdom, Laos, South Korea, Australia, and so on, so on, so on."

Tjandra frowned at the explanation. "Well, there's still much more to this story, but for now, let's hear your part. I'll need to get some ideas on your end to give you some protection."

Major Mio Sakamoto took a step forward. "Well... our own share of the story goes like this..."

* * *

"...And then, suddenly, we find ourselves here, at this... Vietnam you're talking about." The eyepatched Japanese finished.

The story about their own world was a bit... overwhelming for the marines as well. Marlowe seems to be having a hard time on understanding the explanation, while Liu himself was already in the verge of crying and passing out, _this_ close to losing his sanity. A not very sane smile was masking the Asian's tired face, inviting some uneasy and concerned stares from the others. Tjandra was taking in the information pretty well, thanks to the earlier explanation of the whole situation from his son.

So looks like, in their own world, World War II never happened, and their world was under the invasion of an alien being called the Neuroi. Humanity was pushed into the defense, forcing them to work together to handle with the threat, thus, the Witches was born. A superhuman among women all across the world. A very rare breed of human with an animal familiar that gives them power. Witches all across the world were guided to fight the Neuroi threat back using their magic.

The 501st Joint Fighter Wing was only one of the many more fighter squadron consisting of these Witches. And unlike many other Joint Fighter Wings from the USMC's world, their own fighter wing consisted of the witches all over the world. Let it be from the Asian continent, all the way to the arctic regions of the Soviet Union. Oh, and by the way, their world's country names were much different than this one. Take United States of Liberion for an example. It's an equivalent to the United States of America in the 'real' Earth. Same goes to Orussia, a country similar to the USSR. Karsland with Germany, Fuso with Japan, Brittania for UK, Romagna for Italia, Gallia for France, United Republic of Usea for Eurasian states and borders and etc.

Their weird leggings were called Striker Units in their world. It serves as their main 'Fighter unit' during the conflict. Most of them were based on real life planes from the WWII era, but their engines have been modified to be used as a footing unit to help the girls to take their fight against the Neuroi. Each striker units are equipped with a special 'Magic Engine', that would only react to one's magic. And they would only full synchronization when they're in full contact with the skin of the girls, hence why they're not wearing any pants, safe for a few.

The Witches were also a bit confused on their arrival on this Earth. Mio explained that they were just fighting another Neuroi over the vast oceans that leads to Brittania. The marines concluded that it was the Atlantic Ocean. But mid-fight, they suddenly 'lost' control of their own Magic Engines, claiming that they've gone haywired. The next thing they knew about was the image of the Vietnamese rain forest. After a few hours of searching, they only got themselves found by a group of American patrol group.

The rest, well... you know the story.

"Interesting... interesting indeed." Hummed Tjandra thoughtfully. "So, you're saying that you have no intelligence on our world whatsoever?"

Minna was the one who responded to the mechanic's question. "As far as we're concerned, unfortunately, no."

The middle-aged man pouted for a while. "Well... I think I can help you out with this, but we have to get some rules straight. I know this CIA agent also working for the MAC-V-SOG, you can say that they're the special forces in our world in charge of the more darker operations all across Vietnam and Laos. Black Operations group, so to say. I can probably pull you some strings, but it's also with a price."

Liu suddenly raised his head, his insane smile already gone, also standing up, and nearly falling back down again, due to his wobbly state. "You... you can really do that, Pa?"

His father only smirked. "Well, who the hell do you think gave you the permission to enter the military with that short height of yours, my midget boy? I was also the one who told the instructor to keep your hair from shaven. I know how much you love that short black hair of yours."

The boy was frozen for a few seconds. He crashed back down to the ground, instantly burying his face to his gloved hands, also occasionally rubbing his eyes.

"_I-is he going to be alright?_" Marlowe asked his father quietly.

Tjandra smiled at the private. "_He will be. He's just too confused at the whole situation._" He replied, before turning his attention back to the 501st. "About your attire... you will probably need to wear a set of pants from now on. The guys back at the front of the hangar would instantly harass you, if you walk around half-naked."

Mio nodded instantly. "An acceptable compromise. But how about our living spaces?"

The mechanic looked around his empty and vacant hangar. "Well, you girls can just stay here at hangar three. No one usually enter this hangar. This place was supposed to be my personal workplace along with a few other mechanic, but when the fighter's shipment was cancelled, our little group of maintenance crews was dissolved, and this hangar stayed empty, safe for this baby." He pointed at The Chinese Hammer, which was just sitting quietly at the far end of the hangar.

Every single eye turned to the jet propelled interceptor/fighter-bomber plane.

"...Well, it's the best place that I've got for you girls until I can get a clearance from the CIA." Added Tjandra. "Sorry, but I can't really think of another place for you girls to stay at for free. I mean, you can't just barge into our tents, right?"

Perrine, a Gallian, or a Frenchwoman, in this case, looked disgusted at the empty space. "It's... it's filthy."

Another girl, named Charlotte, or Shirley, a Liberion, or, much to their own relieve, an American just like them, whistled. Her tone echoed through the hangar. "I get to sleep in a hangar... nice."

Most of the girls just went into a loud chatter, commenting on the state of the hangar. Leaving the Americans, excluding Liu to just watch them, amused at the sight. The sergeant major later joined the collective stare towards the Witches of the 501st, yet his eyes were just dull, and nearly blank. Some black bags were seen forming beneath his brown orbs. An obvious giveaway to his tired state, both physically and mentally.

* * *

Liu Li Wen was sitting quietly on a small chair inside hangar number three. He had decided to stay inside the hangar against his own father's will. But after relentless arguments from the marine, his father finally lets him to stay there just for the night. The group of soldiers had pulled out some sleeping bags for the girls to use from their own tents. Sure it was still raining, but it had already calmed itself down just to a calm drizzle in the middle of the night. At that hour, most of the Witches're already asleep, exhausted from their day in 'Nam.

Their sleeping bags were a bit soaked, but nothing could stop them from falling asleep almost instantly. The sergeant was just overlooking the sleeping girls. He occasionally played with a nearby wrench to pass the time. He was sure as hell he wasn't getting any sleep for the night, thanks to the presence of the Witches in the Khe Sanh. The sergeant looked to the McDonnel Douglas made aircraft, laying there, inactive.

"Sergeant?" A young voice chirped, almost causing the young man to jump in surprise.

Turning over his shoulder, he only saw Erica with her trademark grin. The Karslander was still wearing her black uniform. "Flying Officer Hartmann?" He chimed back, also slightly questioning in tone.

"Not getting some sleep are you? You look tired." Pointed the blonde girl, plopping herself to seat beside the older soldier, but ironically, lower in rank.

"I've always been tired. But no one can feel tired here at 'Nam." Liu replied with an apathetic look at his face.

There was a bit of a silence between them for a while. "Nice plane you got there." The Witch suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?" Hummed the marine, looking towards the general direction of the said girl's eyes. His sights trailed to see that she was actually looking at The Chinese Hammer. "Oh... the Phantom? Yeah. It's repaired by both me and my dad."

"...Mind telling me why it's the only plane here at the hangar? This place looked like it could hold more than five at once!" The German/Karslander questioned curiously, but with her black eyes still planted at the jet aircraft.

As if being hesitant, the young man kept his silence for a few more while. "...Well, a hangar without a plane sounds a little off, right? After the cancellation of the shipment, my dad requested something that could at least fill the space. The base responded by giving us a broken F4. Since it's no way that my dad would repair this thing alone, I decided to help. Thanks to that, I know a few things about this plane, both inside out."

"Impressive..." Muttered the girl, with her grin still present.

"...Yeah... flied the thing more than one time too to test its capabilities." He pointed towards the tail wing of the plane. There, a sticker of a certain image was printed. The image was a full, nearly confusing mix of ribbons, stars, and color. It was a set of two mobius strips, one blue and another one black, making a square version of the sign of the infinity. Some white stars are seen decorating the outer decal of the sticker. The words _118th Tactical Fighter Wing_ was written on the outer layer of the decal.

"Mobius... Squadron?" Erica traced the words beside the squadron's official insignia. "Wow, sarge, you served in the air too?"

"Mostly for just a test flight. No real combat experience." Liu answered. "I'm still pretty new to the whole thing too. So I usually got my dad sitting at the back seat of the Hammer. I'm supposed to be the only member of the squadron too anyway. No one wants a fighter without a squadron. Hence, the 118th TFW was signed as one of the base's active fighter wing. Although, as you can see... this baby is just sitting dry right here."

Erica chuckled... or giggled? "Heh, I've been a flying officer for years, but it's my first time seeing an actual jet-engined plane."

"No kidding, Me-262 was one of the most rarest planes that was put on active service in WWII. I've also been curious in your Striker Units as well, too anyway."

The girl promptly let her eyes to fell upon the open cockpit of the Phantom. "Heh... not surprised, considering it's your time seeing us Witches here." She commented dryly. "Well, how about we make a deal, then? Let me test this thing out, and I'll let you have a look on our Striker Units."

"Uh... no. Even if I was to pilot this thing, I would rather not have you on the back seat of the Hammer, Flying Officer. No offense. I'm just you know..." Liu was unsure on his own words.

"Scared?" Erica finished, sounding a bit apathetic after his answer.

"...Fears are nothing more than a state of mind, Erica." The marine promptly answered coldly.

The said Karslander blinked at the use of her first name so suddenly. "Huh?"

"That was a quote... but I can't remember who said that." Liu continued quietly, looking away from the fighter plane and from the blonde beside him. "...I'll tell you, everyone's scared here. You can just see it in their eyes... it eats away at you, maybe ages you at the same time." The Asian-American added. "You say that I'm tired? Oh I've already walked around numb every single fucking day here at Vietnam. And the single thing that was planted on my mind was just... _staying alive._"

The grin disappeared completely from the young Flying Officer's pale face, and a melancholic look replaced it instead. "...You're feeling sad, aren't you, sergeant...?"

A single tear flowed down from the brown eyes of the sergeant. "..." He didn't answer the question directly. "Fuck all of this... I'm just tired, damn it..." He hissed quietly to himself. "I... I'm sorry, Flying Officer Hartmann. You... you should get some sleep."

"S-Sergeant?"

"I'm fine." He replied, wiping the lone tear off from his face. "I... I just need some time alone, that's all." With that, he simply exited the hangar from the back. Leaving the girl to herself.

It certainly surprised her.

* * *

**For What It's Worth**

**Second Chapter: Arrival at Khe Sanh**

* * *

Quote of the day:

"Fears are nothing more than a state of mind." - Napoleon Hill (1883 - 1970)

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Hello again, readers. It is I, bringing you another chapter of For What It's Worth, a Strike Witches work of fiction with slight crossover from multiple gaming series.

This chapter is pretty much heavy on the drama parts of the story. Oh, and right... I'm going to respond to Kilo 6's review. I'm pretty confused on how to start this, but... well, as you can see, I'm not a military man, and I certainly don't possess any real in depth military knowledge. Forgive me for the minor weapons or some more mistakes, but, well, long story short, I'm too lazy to get some research done on firearms, that's another reason why I don't usually do 'real-life' military fics. Heck, I only even checked if the weapon freaking existed during the 1960s!

I'm not a real fan for firearms. Well, this story focuses more on character development anyway, so I doubt you'll see many battles and engagements in this fic. If you're here for the weapons galore, some kick-ass adventure or action, shit getting blown up, and spectacular explosions, then sorry, this is not the story for you. Do I plan this fic to be realistic? Yes. But do I plan this fic to be too _military-ish_? No. I don't really care which weapon is what, or which this or that is what. I just write for the sake of the drama. For me, action is in like the third or fourth place in this story. I do not understand what should I call the marines with. I just write spontaneously. This story is written on the spot, like on the Doc Manager of FanFiction, without the use of any Word Processor.

Well, Strike Witches is already an anime, anyway. Well, as I've said before too, expect some mistakes. It's my first time writing a fic about real life conflict. Surely, mistakes are unavoidable, no? I'm just a seventeen year old normal kid from Indonesia, with no real knack when it comes down to military things. I'm writing for the sake of fun, nothing more, nothing less. If you hate me for making these kind of mistakes, themnforgive me, but I'm just not your man to just do some research on firearms.

Finally... back to the actual Author's Notes:

- The fighter wing mentioned in this chapter, the Mobius Squadron, as well as the United Republic of Usea did not exist both in the world of Strike Witches and real-life. It was taken from the Ace Combat series.

- Yes, the quote about 'fear' that I've used is real.

- And last but not least... yeah, I always forget to mention this to you guys, but the nickname 'Abnormal Survivor' was taken from the anime Armored Trooper Votoms, an awesome 1980s mecha anime. Abnormal Survivor was a term, anyway. And the whole talk about fear and all was actually taken from Battlefield Bad Company 2 - Vietnam's expansion pack's TGS 2010 reveal trailer called '_State of Mind_'.

Okay, I just hope I did well with the character interactions in this chapter. I hope you enjoyed the story so far. Thanks for reading, people.

Traesto :)


	4. Morning Madness

"Good morning, Vietnam! Welcome back to AFVN, with your host, Army Specialist Zack Johnson. Our APO here is, and always will be 96309. If you send a song request to that number, we will pick the song that you've requested from the gallery, put it into the radio, and play it on the air. Turn your volumes up, cause we're going to rock your morning. Giving it to The Rolling Stones with their one heck of a song:_ Gimme' Shelter._ Enjoy, boys."

The morning radio rang through the base, livening up the once quiet lands of the Khe Sanh airfield. The morning sunrise had just happened, giving the tropical lands some light. The morning mist was still present, masking some parts of the large landscape. Marines, pilots, and rangers alike scattered throughout the field of the base, just doing their daily routine morning exercise. Most of them were up and about, chattering with each other, having fun, getting ready for another day of shelling from the NVAs, and what not.

Well... but not all of them were having their daily routines. USMC Sergeant Major Liu Li Wen, the de jure leader of the 222nd's Bad Company's second detachment squad was just watching the morning activities of the base from hangar three's observing balcony, second floor of the said place. Aside from the morning exercises, he could also see several M48 Patton tanks as well as their M67 'Zippo' Flamethrower tanks rolling on the ground, accompanied by some jeeps as well as scouts from the main force.

Moving on to the large airfield, the young man's eyes moved aside to watch some Northrop made F5 Tigers from the VFMA-314, also known as the Black Knights, taxiing on the runway, awaiting their time to do their sortie, of course, to patrol the surrounding airspace of the base, and report in if there's anything good to be noted, such as more mortar crews, an NVA battle formation, or so on. The fighters soared into the still rather cloudy skies, reaching a neck-breaking speed in just a couple of seconds.

Finally, the multiple helicopters, ranging from transport, gunship, attack, and others. The choppers were flying in a large formation, heading west. Probably to support the firefight that had just broke up at the western clearings. Several Chinooks, Hueys, and Cobras were littering the air, and polluting the quiet morning with their loud whirring rotor noises. NVA Flak guns were already firing at the air, trying to slow the choppers' advance. It seems like their morning activity did not only wake up the Americans alone.

With a tired sigh, he went back inside the hangar. Most of the girls were still sleeping at that time. Most, but not all. As soon as he closed the door, he could hear several clanking sounds, a familiar noise of his dad's tools getting examined. The marine walked downstairs, only to see Flying Lieutenant Charlotte Elwyn Yeager, a Liberion, or American, in this case, tinkering with a wrench while walking towards the lone fighter/bomber of the US Air Force's 118th TFW, The Chinese Hammer.

He knew that sooner or later, the girls would be attracted to the Phantom II... but not this soon.

"Morning, Flying Lieutenant Yeager." The marine chirped, exhaustion evident in his dry voice. "Sleep well?"

Hearing the sudden greeting, the orange haired girl turned to face the source of the voice. She gave out a small smile when she identified the person was Liu all along. "Mornin', Sarge. Yeah... I guess I was just tired, that's all. Anyway, I could ask _you_ the same question. Did you get some sleep? You look like a wreck." She tilted her mouth to make a slight frown.

Liu raised an eyebrow. "Didn't sleep. I can't, anyway."

An amused look crossed Shirley's face for a split second, before her face deflates back to normal. "Jeez... you know that's not good for your health, right?"

"Hmph, I've had countless of sleepless nights here. I don't mind staying up for another." He replied, whilst walking between her and the jet fighter plane.

"So, Liu, you're also a Liber- American, right?" Shirley questioned, looking at him with her crystalline blue eyes. "How come you don't look like one?"

"Mixed heritage." Liu replied plainly, not surprised at the question. "While I was born and raised at the United States, my mom's a Chinese, dad's an Indonesian, so I'm pretty much a weird mix between the three." By the time the young marine had finished his last sentence, he was in front of his conversational partner. "That would also explain my grammatical mistakes while speaking in both English and other foreign languages, and also my minimal words of choices. I may sound like an American, but I'm still learning to actually become one."

This up close, Shirley noticed something that she had found a bit interesting, and funny at the same time. "Heh, Liu, I know that you're the shortest in your group, but I've never expected you to be this short. You're even shorter than me!" She pointed at the Asian marine whilst fighting a suppressed giggle.

Liu blinked, before actually noticing that she was right. He was indeed slightly shorter than her. "Sh-shut up... I know that I'm a midget, especially for my age. It's only by a centimeter too. No big deal."

A laugh escaped from her lips, and it lasted for a few seconds. "Relax, Sarge. I'm just messing with you. Besides, you also look like you're still sixteen, so... yeah, no big deal."

"Sixteen is an exaggeration, Flying Lieutenant." A hollow chuckle erupted from the marine. "But, still, you're like the seventeenth person who said that to me ever since I got transferred here. By the way... what are you doing this early... with a wrench in hand... and walking towards the Phantom?"

Shirley frantically hid the wrench behind her, although to no avail. She sheepishly smiled at the shorter sergeant. "Oh... whoops, you caught me red handed." She admitted. "Don't worry, Liu. I won't do anything to that precious fighter of yours. I'm just checking out its characteristics."

Liu tilted his head. "Huh? What for?"

"Know the specifics, wings, engines, pretty much the physical stats of the plane itself." The Liberion shrugged, giving him a lazy look. "I'm just trying to learn something new from your world's aviation. And, hey, at least it's also made by the United States, too, right?"

A small grin was visible on Liu's face. "You got it on that one, Flight Lieutenant."

Shirley sighed. "Sarge... seriously, just stop calling me Flight Lieutenant. We're both Liberions- I mean, Americans, and you're older than me. No need for formalities now. Just call me Shir, or Shirley like the others."

"I'll try to get used to it, Flight Lieu-... Shirley."

"Well, you better. Cause it really feels awkward when someone calls me by my rank." She smiled at the fellow American soldier. "Well, back to the topic, I guess. Right, although I'm still pretty new to all of these techy things, I feel like our Striker Units are falling behind from these jets of yours. Since I have this feeling that tells me that we're going to stay here for a while, I think it wouldn't hurt to just... upgrade our Units as well, right? You know... just for worst case scenario?"

"Uh-huh...? But you said that your Striker Units are equipped with 'Magical Engines' that would only react to a Witch's magic, right? How the hell are you going to do that?" A questioning look was shot over from the sergeant. "It's not like our fighters are controlled with our own fighting spirit or something."

The orange haired girl smirked confidently, spinning the wrench around with only her two fingers, much to Liu's astonishment. "Heh, then that's where I come in. I'm a mechanic back at our world. I could probably do something with some of the engines and gears from your fighter and make us a new Magical Engine for our Striker Units. Besides, I want to have a taste of what real jet engine feels like. I can already imagine me, dashing in the skies with one of those."

"Uh, sorry to say, Shirley, but I don't think you can tinker with the Hammer. Dad would be angry at... well, all of us. Although I don't really mind it, but I'm sure he will." Liu answered, feeling a bit guilty at the same time. "There's a few spare parts for the Phantom, though... you can probably do your magic with those things for now."

"No, no, that's no problem, really." Shirley shrugged yet again. "But thanks for the tip, though. I'll be sure to check them out."

The US Marine nodded, before grabbing his goggles and his cap from the nearby table. "Good. Well, I'm gonna be off, now, alright?"

"Where are you going, Sarge?" The girl asked, already motioning for the spare parts at the left hand corner of the hangar.

"Just to meet with some friends, squads and what not. Probably go talk to my dad to regarding this. Because... you know, we need to sort this thing out ASAP." He plopped the gloves back to cover his hands and his reflective goggles to protect his brown eyes.

Shirley just gave a thumbs up. "Yeah, yeah, I got you, Liu. Have fun." She replied from her newly set up workplace. "Oh, and... if you can, bring us some chow too, will ya?"

"Make sure that no one comes out of the hangar, then I'll make sure that you'll get your ration." Liu said, half-jokingly. "...Put some pants on too, please."

Although the girl's face was turned away from him, he could already see her grinning widely. "Deal. No promises on the second one, though."

* * *

Khe Sanh, mess hall area. Soldiers from the Armed Forces would gather here every single day to get themselves a new set of meal, or just to chat with the other soldiers to just pass the time. In this very place as well, sits the three other men of Bad Company's second detachment. Marlowe, Haggard, and Sweetwater were still talking about yesterday's events in a hushed manner, trying their best to not let the words spread to the rest of the base.

And in cue, Liu entered the canteen, looking like he could just drop down and sleep instantly right over there.

"Sergeant Shortstack!" Haggard, having noticing their detachment's CO walking in first, exclaimed, making the rest of the squad to look at him as well. "Hey, over here, Boss!"

Halim snapped back out from his drowsiness, blinking several times to focus back on his surroundings. He walked over to the rest of his small squad and sat down to face them. For several moments, there was just silence between the four, Liu had his own reasons to keep his mouth shut, that said, he's tired, while the rest of the marines were just waiting for their sergeant to open his mouth first regarding their situation at hand.

Sweetwater, seeing enough of the silence cleared his throat whilst sliding a tray of filled with B-Type rations to his CO. "Have some chow, Sarge. It's on our tab."

The Asian-American marine only stared down at the tray as if they were filled with poison. It was an expected reaction, seeing how most soldiers hated the garrison's rations with all of their might, almost to the point that they'd rather eat dirt than the base's food. "Uh... thanks. But I think we'll need more for the girls back at the hangar, though."

"You okay there, Sarge? You look like you're going to pass out... like right now." Marlowe asked, noticing the same tired look from the sergeant from last night.

"I didn't sleep." Liu answered whilst dropping his head to rest on the table. "I can't actually sleep with all of these crap crossing my head."

Sweetwater perked his head up. "So, they're actually staying at your dad's hangar? How're they doing?"

"Exhausted. But they'll live." The NCO replied drowsily. "Shirley seems to be doing just fine, though. They'll probably need to get nourished soon... we need to get ourselves some MCIs from the cafeteria. Or, for better standards, some garrison's A, B, C, or K type rations should do."

Haggard scoffed. "I don't think the girls would like these crap, Boss."

"They're serving us shit. like... actual and literal... shits." Sweetwater took a deep gulp of disgust while staring down at his own ration.

Marlowe laughed half-heartedly at the statement. "As much as I'd hate to admit it, you're right on that one, Sweets."

"Anyway, Boss, what are we going to do with them now? We can't just... hide them forever in your dad's hangar, right?" Haggard asked, rubbing his shaven beard to give out a thoughtful pose.

"I'm planning to meet my dad to plan the next step anyway. The old man said that he knows this guy from the CIA. That's probably our best bet for now." Liu answered, still not bothering to raise his head from the table. "Where's Lieutenant Redford, by the way?"

"Out scoutin' for new members for the 222nd." Sweetwater responded, playing with his square framed glasses. "We can't really fight them NVAs back without some more members in our squad, right?"

Liu sighed. "How about Ghost Rider? Have anyone heard of him?"

"He's out on patrol with the rest of the Vulture Squadron." Marlowe replied. "The 1st Cav's been busy since early morning."

Well, they did got a point. The US Armed Forces have been taking in some heavy losses, thanks to the NVA's hit-n-run and guerrilla tactics they've resorted to use for the last few months, during the massive Tet Offensive. The results that came back from every single engagements weren't pretty. Lots of dead bodies, and even more wounded being carried into the base. As a result, the anti-communist forces decided to use their fighters to maintain air superiority as well as shoot or burn down any strategical places of the NVA without having to waste any more lives from the ground forces.

Casualties are still unavoidable, though. Realizing the plan to muster their air forces, the NVA responded by strengthening their anti-air defenses as well. To just get in or out of the Khe Sanh air base can be considered pure luck due to the massive flak fires. Now, imagining that all of the Witches that were in hangar three were all pilots... Liu suddenly shuddered at the thought of a worst case scenario that would happen if... if...

Almost gagging his insides out at the thought, he suddenly became sick. "Guys... I'll... I'll have to pass the chow." He shoved the tray away from him. "Get ten more trays ready to be delivered to the hangar, alright? I'm just... gonna go and visit my dad."

"Ooah." The marines cried slowly, standing up from their seats and go back to the waiting lines to get themselves the needed rations.

Liu shot them a look of gratitude. "Thanks, fellas." With that one last empty smile, the 2IC skipped off elsewhere, not really noticing a person that's following him.

"Well, time's a wastin' fellas, let's go." Haggard pointed to the line-up with a thumb over his shoulder.

* * *

Tjandra Buntoro was just strumming his acoustic guitar, familiarizing himself to the song _Gimme' Shelter_ that's played through the base's loudspeaker. A lit cigar was seen on his lips. Some smoke escaped through his mouth and nose, polluting the tent area with the stench of the smoke. A sweet, classic tune hummed throughout the area. The middle-aged mechanic nudged his head up and down several times, absorbing himself into the rock music from The Rolling Stones.

"Pa?" A young voice entered his ears, causing the adult to stop his little performance. The senior mechanic raised his head, and spun it around, scanning his surroundings. His dark brown eyes fell upon his own son, Halim, walking towards him while wobbling slightly, his exhaustion getting the best of him.

Tjandra smiled at his kid. "Mornin' Halim. Did you get yourself some sleep?"

"You're like... the third person who asks me the same question, Pa." Groaned Liu, running a hand down from his black hair down to his cheek. "And to answer your question... y-yeah... I did get some sleep." He lied, not wanting his own father to worry about him. "Although it's only for a few hours."

The said adult shot him a questioning glare. "Really?"

Liu shrunk himself, realizing that he had been caught lying. "...No." Grumbled the marine. "...Happy now?"

"No, son. I'm not happy when you're forcing yourself this far out." The Indonesian mechanic said sternly. "I'm worried about you, especially when it comes to this-"

"I know, dad...!" Liu said with a bit of a raised volume, but he turned it down again with a sense of guilt for cutting his parent mid-sentence. "...Dad... I'm also worried about the matter, that's all... this is bigger than me, you, and all of us. I'm just... concerned for them. Both my squad, and the Witches." He answered quietly, with his head facing downwards.

Tjandra exhaled loudly, but a small smile was etching his lips. "That's my boy." He ruffled his son's hair, and to Liu's surprise, he also handed his acoustic guitar to him. "Hold this for me for a while, will ya, Halim?"

The mixed descendant marine tilted his head to the side, with his mouth also slightly gaping open. "Eh?"

"I'll be going to meet a friend of mine, just for a minute or two. You just stay here and guard the smokes, will you?" The man chuckled dryly to himself, walking away from his son.

Liu was left alone, still somewhat confused at his father's rather strange behavior this morning. He's not the type to suddenly socialize with people. Besides, it was crucial for them to meet up with the CIA or MAC-V-SOG member they can trust to finally finish the complex problem. For a minute or two, he just stood there in silence, holding the guitar with his left hand. He wasn't feeling so sure on what to do next with his father gone for a while.

"...Got a little sappy there, huh, sergeant?" A sudden young, and feminine voice chimed from his back.

The marine immediately froze, his feet rooted themselves into the solid dirt ground, and his whole body tensed up when he heard the familiar voice. "_Oh... shit..._" Liu muttered as a cold sweat ran down from his forehead. "F-Flying Officer Hartmann...?" He asked, with his face still facing forward.

"In the flesh!" She chirped cheerily. "...But how many times do I have to tell you... just call me Erica."

Instantly, Liu turned his back around in a hasty manner to confirm his suspicion. Much to his surprise and horror, his honed ears weren't lying to him, as it was also proven with his goggles-protected brown/amber eyes. The Karsland Witch, Erica Hartmann was indeed standing right behind him, with her usual grin. She was wearing Liu's scout cap he had left at hangar three, and she had replaced her black WWII era Luftwaffe uniform with a simple set of male's mechanic's clothing, complete with a pair cargo pants.

"Erica!" Liu exclaimed loudly in his surprise. This action earned the sergeant some questioning looks from the other bypassing soldiers around the area. He promptly hovered his hands above his mouth to silence himself. Berating himself for shouting loudly in reflex, and after making sure that the stares dispersed themselves again, he pulled the younger girl closer to him, so that she could hear him within his whispering range "Wh-what the fuck are you doing here...?!"

The Karslander herself flinched when his free gloved hand pulled her shoulders closer to him, but judging her reaction, the Witch shrugged it off. "I'm bored, and there's nothing to do back in the hangar. You've said not to touch the plane anyway, so I decided to follow you."

"F-follow me?! You were following me all the way from the hangar, the mess hall, and finally here?!" The marine questioned, still dazed at the image of the Karslander in front of him.

"Well, it's not like I know the base's layout by default, right?" She answered nonchalantly. "Nice place, by the way."

"Wh-wha...?" The young man had a dumbfounded look at her answer. "N-nevermind that, how'd you get out from the hangar?! I told Shirley not to let anyone out, and I thought you girls were still sleeping!"

"I got through the back door...?" Erica answered with a lazy shrug. "Oh, her? She was busy doing something with the hangar's spare parts, so I've decided not to disturb her and her work. And no, I can't sleep. The sleeping bags were too soaked for me. While I'm not very picky on what I'm sleeping on, and I'm pretty much a heavy sleeper, it was just too wet for me. I'll get even more soaked if I lay myself down there."

Liu sat both of them down on a wooden chair, facing each other. "So you didn't sleep?"

"Nah... I can't." She answered, sounding a bit exhausted, also yawning in the process.

The Asian-American sergeant of the USMC calmed himself through some deep breaths. "O-okay... but how'd you get those clothes?"

The blonde puffed her cheeks in an unsatisfied manner. "Do you really think that I'm stupid, sergeant?" She rolled her black eyes, signifying a hint of her irritation. "I may look young, but I'm not that naive. I know it's dumb to just walk out of the hangar without any sort of disguise. I found these clothes on the hangar while I'm just looking for anything interesting. Oh, and I'm also borrowing your hat for the time being."

"_I have to thank God that she looks like a freaking boy, safe for the high-pitched voice..._" Murmured the Bad Company's second-in-command. For their credit, Erica actually looked like a guy in those set of clothes. Excluding her face, her short blonde hair and the borrowed cap really helped herself to blend in with any other soldiers. Her more feminine features were also well hidden under the slightly baggy attire. One would only think that she's another mechanic at a random glance. "N-no, it's not like that, Flight Officer. I'm... I'm just surprised."

Slowly, but surely, the grin returned to the Karslander's pale face, signifying the success of the reasoning for the marine's defense. "...Erica, sergeant." She corrected.

"R-right... Erica." Liu repeated her words, before letting the silence to take over between them.

"...Well..." The Witch trailed off, staring towards the skies. "This is pretty awkward..."

"Correction, this is pretty depressing." Groaned the marine, placing the guitar down, and crossing his arms.

"MAKE WAY, MAKE WAY!" A random ranger shouted, gaining the attention of everyone nearby. "WOUNDED COMING THROUGH! GET A STRETCHER READY!"

In a trance, Erica perked her head up to see what's happening. "Hey, what's going on-"

She could never finish her sentence nor see the chain of events that're unfolding, as her black eyes were quickly covered by Liu's hands. "Don't look." He commanded emotionlessly. "Don't ask... just... don't." He added the order.

Liu was literally saving the younger girl from an emotional breakdown, as in cue, a group of soldiers carrying dead bodies, with most of them in a horrifying condition. They're either burned, or mutilated into pieces. The wounded were not in the least better condition. The injured soldiers that were carried to the infirmary were in critical conditions, as some of them were already legless, armless, burned, or just wrecked into pieces.

"MY LEGS! I CAN'T FEEL MY LEGS!"  
"GOD, HELP ME! GOD, PLEASE, HELP ME!"  
"JESUS CHRIST, THE PAIN, IT'S FUCKING KILLING ME...! ARRRGGHH!"  
"WH-WHERE AM I?! WHY CAN'T I SEE A THING?!"  
"IT BURNS! IT FUCKING BURNS!"

Multiple screams of pain and agony were shouted the group of wounded soldiers of rangers and marines alike. Just by hearing their pleas made Erica's already pale skin to pale even further, while Liu's own tanned skin turned as white as sheet as he saw the terrifying image. His hands that were hovering above the Karslander's eyes trembled greatly. Nausea was building up inside him greatly, also turning his stomach inside-out, causing the sergeant to cough up.

After the group passed the tent areas, Liu let his hands to drop from the Witch's black eyes. To his surprise, Erica was bearing a cold face.

"...Does this happen daily in here?" She asked quietly, no emotion was present on her face, and she was just looking straight into the sky.

The Asian marine bit his lower lip at the question. "...Not in a daily basis, but it happens pretty often."

"I see." She answered, nodding once.

The marine looked away from the Witch. "_God give 'em piece... they'll need it... we all will need it in times like these._" He muttered quietly, gritting his teeth. "...Sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" Erica asked, still sounding a bit cold. "...You know that this isn't your fault, right?"

The sergeant looked up to the flak-polluted skies. "...I just felt like it." He answered, with no emotion left in his tone except from the coldness that his face radiates. "...Sorry." He repeated.

The blonde haired Karslander motioned her black eyes to the marine without actually turning her head to him, an uneasy silence built itself a wall between the two.

"...I stood in front of a mirror and always resented myself." The sergeant said suddenly in Japanese. "...Within these days I spent forgetting how to live."

Erica blinked at the sudden cryptic statement, but she kept her mouth shut, which was kind of rare for the usually cheery and loud witch.

"A Japanese song's lyrics." Liu answered the unasked question. "...I forgot the title, but it was so deep, that I've memorized its Kanji."

Erica's grin promptly returned, although it started with a small one. "Well, look at you... getting depressed and all... you're going all random up to the point where you're just spouting random lyrics. Are you sure that you're fine, sergeant?"

The Bad Company's second-in-command scowled at her lightning-fast recovery at the very mentally depressing situation. He knew that he was just being random, but what for? Has his stress finally took the better of him? The sergeant dropped his head, but a hollow chuckle also escaped from his mouth. "Heh... no one is fine once they're on the 'Nam, Flying Offic-" He paused mid-sentence to see the blonde Witch's correcting look. "...Erica."

A small but satisfied smile formed up on Erica's face. "Well, you can talk about yourself if you want."

Liu's eyelids stuttered slightly at the proposal. "Excuse me?"

The Karslander nodded. "Yeah, talk about yourself! I've been wondering about your squad, your ability to speak in different languages or what not."

"This is going to take a while..." He hesitated, shooting her an uncertain look.

"Don't worry. I don't have anything to do anyway. Besides, I'll need to learn more about this world if I'm to live here for a while, right?" Erica smirked, retorting the reply that could potentially lead into an argument between the two.

Liu sighed, before clearing his throat to begin his long story. "Let's start with myself... I suppose you already know my name, right? Just call me Liu, no need for formalities. As you can see, I have a mixed heritage. Dad's and Indo, mom's a Chinese, while I was born in America. That would also explain my bad English and my minimal lexical knowledge. I'm twenty-one. Will be turning twenty-two this year. Born in the 46, which kinda... makes you older than me, if you're not counting in the whole time travel thing." He said dryly.

"Not in this case, though." The girl giggled quietly, almost giving out her feminine voice to the crowd of soldiers passing by. After a slight glare from the marine, she slapped herself mentally. "Whoops, sorry."

He just raised his hand, signalling that it's not to be concerned. "During the World War II era, like in 1943 or so, my dad fought for the Indonesian army, serving as a mechanic and a pilot for the roughly established Indonesian Air Force, of course, with a stolen plane from the Japanese. Oh, and for your information, yes. Japan, or Fuso, in your world, indeed invaded our country. My dad told me the stories about they killed countless of our men and women without any hesitation. Any movement to support our country's independence, even if it was just a song about it were considered a threat, and the Japanese military wiped them out."

The Karslander Witch winced slightly at the thought. "Sheesh, I wonder how Miyafuji'll react to that." She said to herself, sounding almost a bit sad.

"It all happened over twenty years ago, so I guess there's no use crying over spilled milk. For me and my family, there's no bad blood us and the Japanese. During the war, my dad somehow found my mom, a Chinese woman that only came to the country as a tourist when the Japanese suddenly invaded Java, about to be raped by several Japanese foot soldiers. The old man almost sacrificed himself to save my Ma. They fell in love and got married just a few months later. Indonesia's declaration of independence happened on the 17th of August, 1945, I think... and that's just a few days after the Americans dropped their atomic bombs... twice, on Japan's soil." He explained.

"Wow, Miyafuji is NOT going to like this part of the story." Erica frowned, also pouting with an amused face.

Liu sighed. "That's why I refrained from telling you girls the part of our story, the Indonesian-Japanese conflict. But that's all history now. After the war, my whole family decided to move to the States. I was born there just a year after. Our small family is doing alright, I suppose. Although I'm an only child, they're already satisfied with me alone. My parents got a decent job, my grandparents were happy, I got myself into a prestigious school. After a while, dad decided to quit his job, and joined the military, though. Since then, he has served the US as a mechanic, and sometimes, a flier for their planes."

A confused look crossed her face. "Then, how'd you end up here, out of places? I thought you said that you had entered a pretty good school back in your country."

"I was just getting there. Now, when everything seems to be going fine for us, war broke out in the far East. That's when we heard about Vietnam. My dad got transferred here first. I decided to quit school, much to my mom's disappointment, and take up military courses. To be honest, I almost got myself kicked out due to my short height. You wouldn't find any other personnel shorter than me in the force. I'm even shorter than Shirley." He admitted. "Although I finally got accepted because the USAF thought that I was _nimble_... _(I guess)_ I kinda feel bad for myself for saying that."

Erica snickered. "A height complex, like... seriously?"

"N-no! I-it's not like that!" Liu denied quickly, embarrassed about the whole talk regarding his height. "A-anyways... I got accepted into the military, and got myself enlisted as a marine. That's all thanks to my dad. He must've pulled in some strings from the brass to let me in. I was trained to be a scout, hence my minimal protection and medium-long range weapons. I got transferred here ASAP to help the Anti-Communist Forces with all of the shit that's going on."

"Ahh... I see..." Hummed the Witch, pouting in deep thought, letting the new stream of information to flow inside her head. "What about your squad, though? I could hear you saying the name 'Bad Company' more times than I could count."

The name of his squad rang inside the Asian's head for a few times. "Right... the Bad Company. Its official name's actually the 222nd Army Battalion. Pretty weird, huh, since Army was supposed to be for ground forces, while we're marines? Well... the 222nd are mainly composed of young, inexperienced, and poorly trained soldiers, deemed expendable, only to be used as cannon-fodders at the front-lines, or to be used as a patrol dog for the base. This one sorry excuse of a battalion holds the highest number of mortality here because of said reasons. Most new guys would have to go through this battalion first before actually getting transferred to the main force. Most guys would consider a transfer order to this battalion as an instant ticket to hell."

"Wait... you just said cannon-fodders." The blonde haired Karslander/German soured her face a bit. "Please tell me that I just heard that wrong."

"Nope... The Bad Company were indeed cannon-fodders." The marine replied, also sounding a bit irritated on his own. "Now, moving on to the details, I think I got myself a pretty unique squad. Marlowe, Haggard, and Sweetwater. I think you've known them by now, Marlowe especially. Well, it's pretty much a weird mix of soldiers, seeing how I'm a scout, and occasionally a field medic, while the rest of my squad are a bunch of soldiers with a weird set of weaponry. Marlowe holds the M16 along with the flamethrower. He's our man if we need to clear the crowd, especially with his M9. Sweets is our guy who always gives us the suppressing fire needed. They guy's pretty much a weapon junkie and a genius when it comes down to tactical deployment. Haggard... well, he blows stuff up, drinks beer, shouts random things, repairs our vehicles, blows stuff up, curses something about the NVAs, and then blows more stuff up. Typical for a hot-blooded Texan. Our CO is lieutenant Redford, the African-American soldier. A good guy all around, and a skilled soldier on the field. But he's also a loud and foulmouthed man when he's back on the base."

"That's a rather... interesting mix, to say the least." Erica mused. "...But I still can't believe that your country's using a very primitive tactic in this war."

Liu scoffed. "Look who's talking. Your world is sending under-aged girls to fight against the Neuroi things." He replied sarcastically.

She merely shrugged. "Hey, desperate times calls for desperate measures."

An empty nod, almost robotic, was given from the young man as an acknowledgement. "Right..." He trailed, looking back to the skies. "Anyway, about how I know a bunch of other languages? Well, you can say that I learn a lot while I'm in school, plus, my Ma and Pa can actually speak Japanese, thanks to the Japanese Invasion on Indonesia. I learned a lot from them too, I know the Indonesian, Malaysian, and the Chinese language by default, since it's more like a family thing. In total, I know about... how many languages...? Eight, I guess... Indonesian, Malaysian, Chinese, Japanese, just a bit of Russian, German, French... and... oh, Italian as well."

Erica was shifting her body uneasily after the statement. "E-Eight languages...?"

Liu nodded. "Yeah, but I'm still learning how to actually speak them in a proper manner, cause, you know, I'm-"

"Halim!" An old voice called out from the distance causing the boy to tense up immediately, while Erica just looked confused.

The soldier shot his body upwards. "Shit..." He spat in reflex. "Dad's coming back. He'll be mad if he sees you walking around like this." said him hastily. "You need to hide, and fast."

"E-eh? What are you talking about, Sarg-" The younger Witch could never really finished her sentence as she was pushed into the nearby empty tent by yours truly. "WAH!" She yelped, almost causing several heads to turn in surprise.

"S-sorry! Just stay here for a while, alright?" Liu was also quick to apologize for shoving the girl into the vacant tent, before turning back to his father, with an innocent look plastering his face. His father wasn't alone, though. Tjandra was walking back into the tents with another man, early-to-mid-adult. He's Caucasian, with a roughly thin shaved head and beard, chocolate brown eyes, and his set of attire was more sophisticated than most of the marines or rangers in the area, obviously signifying his high rank.

"Hey there, kid. You were talking with someone just now?" The mechanic asked.

"N-no...! Well, yeah, but only with a friend...! E-ehehe!" Halim stammered back, laughing awkwardly whilst rubbing the back of his head.

His father raised his eyebrow suspiciously at his son, before he deflates back to introduce the new man beside him. "Well, whatever... anyway, boy... meet Captain Alex Mason. He's the guy that could help us with the situation at hand."

The boy shifted his eyes to fall on the man called Mason. Two bars of connected silver stripes were present on his collar. He did a small salute to the higher ranked officer. "An honor to meet you, sir. Sergeant Major Liu Li Wen, 222nd Army Battalion."

"At ease, sergeant." Mason raised his hand. "I've been informed by your dad here that you're having a trouble with something. I've been informed up to speed, and I think get the situation. You're saying that these Witches are fighting another alien life form, and somehow ended up in here?"

Liu nodded sternly. "Yes, sir."

The captain immediately hummed thoughtfully, but a quite uneasy look was also present. "And... you want them to be kept out from the public's view?"

"If possible, yes, sir."

"That's gonna be a hard thing to do..." Muttered Mason within an audible hearing range. "...Words can go fly around pretty quickly around the base. I only know a few CIA operatives in the base too. Although the two of my friends are serving the SOG, I doubt we'll make a difference."

Behind those reflective goggles, the Asian marine's slender eyes narrowed themselves even further. "I know the well of the inevitable risk, sir. But for now, we just need to keep them secure and away from the eyes of the public, and if possible, the US government. I could only fear the worst if they found them out here and now." He spoke quietly, also shuddering. "_Especially when we're fighting a losing battle..._" He added in a bare whisper.

"...I understand your concerns, but I still need more information regarding these girls to form a solid alibi for them." Mason replied. "Are they being hostile to you?"

"We can't really confirm the situation yet, sir, considering how they just came into this world yesterday, but of 'em is a Russian. The rest, were from Germany, The United Kingdom, USA, Finland, Japan, Italy, France, and so on. Most of the group were from the European continent." Liu explained. "Rest assured, they're not hostile. Not even the Russian girl. In fact, she was attacked by the NVAs during our first encounter."

"They were attacked as well?" The captain asked, almost disbelievingly. It's unusual for an NVA to just attack the Russian forces, a USSR, no less! "I see... truth be told, I can't really do anything with only my position to cover them. Sure I can get the CIA and the SOG to keep their mouth shut for a while, but for how long 'till the word reach the states? We know that we can't avoid that one, so we need to at least plan this thing even further."

"_...Something that could make them invulnerable, at least from the base's personnel if words're to really go out ..._" The young marine thoughtfully muttered to himself. "_...Although most of them were already high-ranked by default, some of 'em are still... maybe if we can just enlist them onto something that could at least give the guys here a second thought before going in..._" He continued. And finally, as if a metaphorical light bulb went on inside his head, the sergeant snapped his fingers. "Military Assistance Command, The Studies and Observation Group." The words left his mouth plainly.

The two soldiers blinked at the statement.

"What about the MAC-V, sergeant?" Mason asked, curious about his plan.

"We enlist them there." Liu commented flatly. "Therefore, we could provide them some sort of immunity from the base. I mean, since the group itself was already a Black Operations unit, I doubt the base would ask so many question regarding the topic, and they'll do what the SOG asks. So, by doing so, we can stall the inevitable at least for a bit longer. Hopefully, they'll make it back to their own world by then."

"A good idea... but can we really do that? I mean... the guys would have lot of red tapes to cut before actually letting us in."

"Then I'll cut those red tapes for you, Captain Mason." Liu answered firmly, maintaining his straight face. "I'll also take full responsibility of their and my squad's actions. No one is to blame if anyone decides to charge for this matter."

Tjandra, after being silent for a while, finally nudged himself closer to his short son. "Halim? You know that you're being-"

"I know." Liu replied coldly, cutting his father mid-sentence. "That's the exact reason why I'm even proposing this idea to you guys."

"...Truthfully, I don't know if I could do that, sergeant." Mason mused emotionlessly. "But it IS our best chance if we're to give them some cover. I'll see what I can do about it. For now, you go gather the girls, and get me the dossiers. I'll handle the paperwork, and I'll also see if I can't get the SOG to squeeze in a few more butts."

The marine's eyes widened for a bit, although, it remained unseen by the others, thanks to his goggles. "R-really?"

"Hey, I owe your dad my life. I can't see why not." The Captain gave a slight smirk to the young soldier, but the next second later, his serious look returned. "Just get those dossiers ready by the next three days. We'll need to move quickly."

"Yes, sir." Liu gave a full salute to the superior officer. "Thank you very much for your assistance too, sir."

Mason returned the salute back to the marine. "As you were, Sergeant Major." With that, the captain marched off someplace else. Leaving the two Asians alone.

"Holy crap, Pa. You actually made a friend with HIM?!" Liu was barely able to contain his excitement. "I was just speaking to a CIA agent!"

Tjandra only smirked at him. "Well, let's just say, Mason and I go wayyy back. I'll tell you our stories when the time comes, alright? For now, you'd better go back to the hangar." Told the mechanic, pulling out another stick of cigarette from his breast pocket, and lighting it up. "I have to go to the main airfield to help the other maintenance crews with the repair efforts for the C-130. One of her wings are crippled by enemy AA, and we'll need to get her back up into the air immediately."

"Uh... sure." Liu nodded, a bit awkwardly.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, son." The adult messed his son's hair up. "At least you're doing the right thing here." He walked away, puffing the cigarette to produce some smoke.

Liu only watched as his father once again left him again. "_Yeah... I hope I'm doing the right thing._" He muttered, before shifting his eyes to the right. A supposed-to-be empty green tent entered his eyes. "You can come out now. Coast is clear."

The Karslander suddenly burst herself out from the tent, coughing loudly, and maybe a bit too dramatically. "Eugh...!"

"You okay in there?" The Asian-American raised his eyebrow at the shorter girl. "...You're not going to puke... are you?"

Erica glared upwards at the marine. "As if! But there's too much smoke inside the tent! It was really hard to breathe."

Liu looked towards the vacant tent. It was his dad's. "Oohhh..." He sighed.

"Don't you '_oohhh..._' me, it's not funny!" Grunted the Witch, crossing her arms, and puffing her cheeks red.

"I'm not teasing you, Erica. I thought that my dad would not smoke inside his tent, since it's bad for his health... but _nooooo..._" He grumbled, also a bit displeased at his father's smoking habits. "I might... no, I REALLY need to talk to him about this."

"Whatever you say, Sarge." The girl shrugged. "So... what are we going to do now?"

"The only thing we... or maybe I could do... go back to the hangar and get me some info for the dossier." Liu jogged lightly to the general direction of the hangar. "You comin', Flying Officer?"

"It's Erica!"

* * *

"Whoa, Missy, calm the hell down!"

"Jeez, take a chill pill, will ya?! Are you having your time of the month, girl?!"

"C-Captain, please calm down! We only as much as you do!"

"I don't care! If something happens to her, I'll hold you three responsible for this!"

"WHAT?!"

Both Liu and Erica stopped before they reached hangar three's back door. They could hear some frantic chatters from the inside. Three of them sounded like an American, while the last female one, sounded a bit accented, but it sounded like an European. Both of the young soldiers outside the hangar exchanged uncertain glances at each other. Looks like the Bad Company's second detachment had themselves locked in an argument with the 501st.

"Trude's not happy, I assume..." Erica muttered, a slightly uneasy look was present on her face.

"Oh damn... that doesn't sound good." The 2IC of the said squad tensed up. "You think we should head in?"

The blonde Witch only nodded once, the grin on her face now replaced with an uneasy smile. "S-sure..."

With an uncertain nod to each other, the sergeant of the USMC placed his hands on the door that leads to the back room of the hangar. He slowly turned the knob in a clockwise turn, and pushed the metal door open. The rusty hinges of the door produced a rather loud grinding and creaking noises, and the door slides to the inside. The two pair of young soldiers walked in at the same time, only to see the 222nd and the 501st, having their eyes turned over to them.

Liu noted that the marines under his command were doing as ordered. He counted about eleven trays of assorted food of the base's ration on closed trays, stacked up on each other. But that things aside, they could also see that the Marines and the Witches were _this_ close to the point of conflict. On of the girls, Captain Gertrud Barkhorn was evidently angry. Her teeth were gritting against each other, and the marines were pushed back to the defense. The rest of the Witches were also present.

"D-did I miss something?" The sergeant major asked.

"BOSS!" ; "SARGE!" ; "SHORTSTACK!"

"FRAU!" ; "FLYING OFFICER!" ; "LIEUTENANT!" ; "HARTMANN!"

Came the collective response of exclamation from both of the group. Mixed expressions were seen from the two different sides after seeing their soldiers walking in at the same time. The Bad Company's members however, were mostly washed over with relieve, seeing their CO had came in at a the perfect time. The Witches, though... were mostly confused at seeing one of their members wearing a baggy set of clothes.

Out of anger, Barkhorn immediately took a step forward. "Frau... step away from the marine."

"I-it's good to see you, Trudy!" Erica said nervously, smiling awkwardly at the superior officer.

"I said step away from him." The fellow Karslander said with no emotion, and her tone ice cold, shoving the blonde girl from the slightly taller marine, the twin-tailed Witch stepped forward to the slightly dazed marine.

Liu himself was confused to the bone. "Captain Barkhorn, ma'am?" He asked, still oblivious at the focused anger directed at him. "Is something the matte- WAGH?!" He yelped, as his uniform's collar was suddenly grabbed by the brunette.

"You!" Gertrud growled, venom can almost be literally seen in her tone.

Liu blinked uneasily. "M-me...?" He squeaked, his voice sounded nearly thrice as high pitched.

"What did you to her, you filthy Liberian?!" The Captain promptly angrily tightened the grip on the marine's collar. The racial comment made Shirley to form a frown in the corner of the room, while the rest of the Bad Company winced a bit.

"Wh-what are you talking about, ma'am?!" The marine managed to stutter the question back, now fearing for his own life, for the one who grabbed him had some strength to even pull his head upwards, also forcing the sergeant to look down.

"Do I really need to repeat myself, Sergeant Major?!" Trudy pulled herself close to the sergeant, almost ready to punch him square in the face. At that distance, one could even see the brown eyes beneath those reflective goggles, twitching in great uneasiness.

Liu himself, feeling new to the whole situation, especially with a girl's face close to his own, forced himself to look away, closing his eyes shut, and could feel a bit embarrassed himself. A pretty rare sight to see for the marines, considering that the usual Abnormal Survivor seen on the field was usually quiet, cold, steely, commanding, and stoic. But for him to show such flustered, scared, and so out of character reaction was surprising, maybe even comical to his subordinates.

"...I-I...!" China breathed out, but nothing came out, the confusion taking the better of him.

"Trude, calm down, and put the sergeant down, now!" Minna's commanding voice suddenly echoed through the room, causing the heads to snap to her.

Responding to the Wing Commander's orders, the Captain releases her grip from the marine, letting him go. The sergeant coughed up some of the choked oxygen in his lungs. He also held a hand on his neck, the force that the Karslander had used to grab his collar wasn't exactly the smoothest thing in the world. He was sure to be feeling a bit sore over that for a couple of hours. A bit of red was also visible on his face, although, it was unknown whether it was due to the lack of oxygen, or the embarrassment he was feeling.

"I... I didn't do anything to her, Captain, I swear...!" The USMC quickly spoke, holding a hand up to defend himself from another potential assault.

Seeing the still tense situation, Erica laughed nervously. "E-ehehe... he's right, guys! I was kinda bored, so I decided to sneak out from the hangar. But believe me, the place is huge! Although not as grand as our base, it's still really cool for a base's standards!"

"Frau... you're in for some deep questioning later." Gertrud shot the younger girl a cold look, almost sadistic. "You also owe us some answers, Sergeant Major."

In an instant after the order from the Flying Lieutenant, Liu's face deflated back to his usual stoic expression. "C-certainly, Captain." Although his voice was betraying his calm posture. "...But now, I have something important to tell you girls regarding your stay right here."

"And what would that be, Sergeant Wen?" The Japanese Major asked, her face neutral.

"It's about..." He trailed, before a loud growl erupted from one's stomach.

In cue, everyone turned to their attention to Yoshika. The young Witch rubbed her own stomach, while giving out a sheepish, but shy smile to the group. "S-sorry."

Liu's lips simply formed an empty smile, as per usual. "...Well, we can discuss this after the meal. As you can probably seen here bring up some trays filled with our garrison's rations. Pick whatever you like."

Haggard promptly kicked the party up by whistling to get the other's attention. "Take your pick, girls! They're made by Khe Sanh's '_finest_'!" He stressed the word 'finest' with a bit of a sarcastic remark.

"We won't be responsible for any explosive diarrhea, though!" Sweetwater added, motioning towards the tray.

Marlowe simply chuckled at the antics of his other squadmates.

The girls, having heard of the word 'food' immediately scooted over to the set of stacked trays. Each of them took a set of warmed up meals into their hands without thinking, probably due to their starvation. The Witches opened the trays to see an assortment of food greeting their eyes. Most of them were left unsure, and they were just staring at the meals at their hands, as if being hesitant to just dig in. The 501st exchanged glances with the Bad Company, who in turn, only gave them a shrug back, prompting them to continue on.

The only who was actually playing with the meal was the Brittanian, Lynette Bishop. "It... it doesn't have any smell." She sniffed at the food, trying to examine its properties.

Yoshika raised an eyebrow at her friend's comment. Before diving a fork into the spaghetti, rolling it up into a nice set of fold, and placed it in her mouth. Munching the food for a couple of seconds, her face turned a bit green. With force, she gulped down the food. "It's... it's tasteless too...!" She informed.

"These things looked like they're pre-cooked." Lynette mashed her dried food, before just grabbing a hard-tack from its packaging.

"It's because they _are_ indeed pre-cooked, lassy." Haggard replied, smirking. "I won't be surprised if they taste bad."

"Or stale, for this case." Sweets laughed heartedly, but still in good humor.

"It was expected from our garrison's rations, by the way." Marlowe took another packaging of his own hard-tack from his pocket. He bit into the cold and preserved biscuit with a slight grunt of displeasure. "But we soldiers can't really complain about it. Since we don't really have a kitchen area here. Sure, we have one, but the guys at the base were just too lazy to just cook their shit up."

"Ironic, isn't it?" The glasses-wearing machine-gunner hummed sarcastically. "Well, it's a soldier's life here at Khe Sanh."

The bearded. foulmouthed bombardier pulled a moderate-sized beer bottle out from his coat, afterwards, shocking almost everyone excluding Sweetwater. "You boys and girls are welcome to take a shot from there, though. I've figured that you all would need something to at least dull the already tasteless taste of the food." Haggard slammed the bottle on top of a crate, like he's actually declaring it.

Liu stared at the bottle, still disbelieving the sight. "How the hell did he get that...?" He pointed at the bottle. "W-wait... don't answer that. I don't want to know where and how did you get it."

Truth be told, an image of Haggard threatening the kitchen hands, demanding for a beer with his 870 Combat in hand, while an M67 Frag on his other hand was visible inside the NCO's mind for a few seconds. Shuddering at the horrifying thought, the marine ultimately pushed all of those negative ideas away from his head, by actually banging his head left and right. He just had to lead this squad filled with misfits, not counting Marlowe in, of course. But... for their credit, he didn't regret it.

A tired look finally washed over the 2IC's face. "You know what, Hags? I'll just take a shot or two. I just need to sink this feeling out of my head for a couple of minutes. Anyone here got a cup or somethin'?"

"Got it covered, Sarge." Sweetwater tapped at the few glasses on his side. He pivoted to his left to grab one small glass and toss it at his CO.

"Thanks." Was Liu's robotic reply, sounded automated too. He caught the small glass gingerly with his free hand, before moving towards the beer bottle. Haggard dispensed the light-golden to brown liquid into the cup without actually being ordered by the Asian marine. Giving a slight nod of gratitude towards the bombardier, he sat back on his chair. For a couple of while, he did nothing but to just watch the girls and marines alike, chattering like an actual family.

For some reason, he felt warm. He had longed to see the sight of soldiers, just relaxing, blowing off steam, and talking like they're some sort of long-time friends. The marines of the Bad Company seems to be particularly interested at Shirley, which Liu hypothesized because of her large bust size. To their shock however, Shirley herself was daring herself, by occasionally pressing her breasts together. While Haggard and Sweetwater were about to pass out because of their nosebleed, Marlowe, being a more preserved one, scooted away from the girl before the situation builds up.

Liu found himself staring back down at his alcoholic drink. He wasn't feeling sure about the whole thing. He chuckled pathetically to himself. He knew that he was growing at least of stress inside him that could potentially lead him insane. His PTSD was growing, and rapidly. Although the constantly horrifying image of the Second Indochina Conflict numbed his sense humanity off, the nightmare still remains, and would haunt him forever. He knew that his sanity was close to just snap, and his transfer to the mental ward could be inevitable, but at least, it could be slowed down with this.

The sight of a _second_ family. Like a closely, and nicely knit friendship.

At least the good times lasted while it did, cause it's about to grow down under quickly, true to Perrine's dropping mood.

In frustration and probably disgust, the Frenchwoman/Gallian girl, shot her slender body up. "Excuse me, Sergeant." She piqued, obviously feeling irritated.

"Hmm?" Liu absentmindedly raised his head from his drink. "Is something troubling you, ma'am?"

"As in the matter of fact, yes, Sergeant. Something IS indeed bothering me." She spoke elegantly, her French accent flowing freely in her speech. "Do you think we're some kind of dogs or animals to you?"

The marine blinked. "Say what?"

"Yes, you heard me right, Liberion." Perrine glared at the NCO. "Do you think that we're some kind of peasant to you?" She repeated her question, angered. "Why are you serving us _this kind_ of food?! It's tasteless, moist, and hard! Hmph, I could not even call these _'things'_ food...!"

Liu frowned a bit at her protest. "Erh... that's what we soldiers usually get in the field, so..."

Unsatisfied by his answer, Perrine's anger only became more intensive. "Well, we Witches certainly deserved better than you drunken barbarians! You call these rations?! Heh, I think lieutenant Hartmann over there could even cook better than these... trash."

"Hey!" Erica shouted from the corner, having heard the mention of her name in cooking. "I resent that!"

"_Drunken barbarians...?_" The Asian-American sergeant raised an eyebrow, repeating her somewhat hostile words quietly. "Uhm... Je Suis Desolle, Madame." Liu spoke with a very rusty French, mixed his usual, slightly funny Chinese accent. "But, still, as you can see, what we're having here could be said as a luxury. We're much more fortunate than the guys over at the Forward Bases. Their living standards are much worse than-"

Perrine actually stopped to stare at the sergeant when he had actually spoken in her native language, but her opinion of him hasn't improved even by a single bit. "Still, are you expecting us to just survive with these kinds of food?! You've already forced us to live in this filthy, run-down place, and you're now serving us this?!"

Feeling that his patience has been thinned out by a bit, Liu sighed tiredly. The young soldier ran a hand down from his eyes to his cheek to give out his exhausted state. "...Not to mention saving your lives back at the jungle yesterday." He gave a light, sarcastic snort. "Please, ma'am, you just have to understand. We're doing everything in our power to ensure your safety too."

Still somewhat unsatisfied with everything, the Gallian was about to retort back, but then Mio raised her sheathed katana between the two, catching them off guard by surprise. "Alright, that's enough you two. Especially you, Perrine. I don't need a fight to break out right here, right now." The Fusoan Witch glared at the two conflicting soldiers, also making sure that her command sounded steely as well.

The said Gallian huffed at the command, but for some reason, her eyes sparkled a bit in... admiration? "Yes, Major Sakamoto." Perrine relented from saying any more of her harsh words any further to the marine, but she managed to shot him a one last sharp and dark glare, filled with distrust, irritation, disgust, and anger.

"I love you too, kid." Liu deadpanned, noticing the glare from her. "And for the record... this is my first time drinking. I don't usually drink alcoholic beverages, even when I'm off duty."

The silent anger was proven too much for Perrine as she just stomped away from the area. "Ugh... for the love of..." Muttered the girl, fixing her crooked glasses after her furious blurt out.

"E-erh..." Liu's eyebrow twitched upwards, he was just to turn his attention back to the beer he had in his hands, before he's approached by three Witches, namely Minna, Mio, and Gertrud. He did a slight salute with his two fingers. "...How can I be of service, ma'am?"

"I thought that we should talk about the earlier explanation you've promised, regarding the 501st's stay, I mean." Gertrud was the first to speak up. "I'm sorry about my earlier actions... you know, one's concerns towards each other could be..." The Karslander trailed off, looking a bit apologetic to the sergeant.

"Say no more, Captain Barkhorn. I get it." Liu hollowly smiled, with no signs of emotion radiating from the said smile. He made it just for reassurance, his face then turned stoic as usual. "Yeah... about that..."

"What about it, Sergeant Major Wen?" Mio asked, a bit uneasily. "Has something happened?"

"Well, something DID happened, Major Sakamoto, but, I don't know if this is for the better or for the worse." Liu said cryptically.

Minna narrowed her eyes at him. "Care to elaborate about it, sergeant?"

"Certainly, ma'am." Liu said without looking to the Wing Commander. At least, not directly. "You know the reason why am I keeping you guys in here, out from the other's sights, right?" Silence. "I'll take that as a yes. So... I was kinda introduced to a CIA agent, a long-time friend of my dad. He said that he could help you girls out. But we're going to need your dossier."

"What for?" The red-haired Karslander questioned.

"... Well, it's mostly to keep you from public's reach, at least giving you all some sort of immunity from the wrong hands." The only Asian marine explained. "Long story short, we're kinda enlisting you girls to the United States Armed Forces' Military Assistance Command - The Vietnam's Studies and Observation Group. Abbreviated MAC-V-SOG."

Mio looked at the sergeant with her untrusting, unpatched eye. "You mean that Black Operations group you've mentioned yesterday?"

Gertrud clicked her tongue, annoyed. "...You signed us up without our knowledge? We are to enter a completely different command?"

"You better have a good reason for this, Sergeant Major." Minna said cautiously. "...And also, choose your next words carefully. Because, as far as we're concerned, we Witches are not going to do your dirty work just so we can stay here. We need to get back to our own world. ASAP."

Liu was gritting his teeth under his mouth. It was never easy just blurt out the bad news to them. "As I've said before, it's just purely for your own safety. Although the CIA and SOG works independently, the US government would usually not ask any question. Sure, it would raise suspicion, but once you're in, what you wish is their command. I assure you, ma'am, the girls would not be conducting any Black Ops. You have my word for it. The title was just merely for show, nothing more, nothing less."

The three Witches stared at the marine with an unreadable expression over their faces.

"...When do you need these dossiers, Sergeant Wen?" Minna finally asked.

Liu was still uncertain due to her still unreadable look. But it's for their own good too. "In three days time, Wing Commander. No need to rush it."

"We may need some time to think about this, though... it's not like we could just accept everything that's going on over here." Mio added, while Gertrud just looked at the marine, with a bit of... pity?

"Take your time, ma'am." Liu respectfully gestured his free hand to them, letting them to go talk to themselves.

Having at least a weight off from his back, the USMC sergeant sighed deeply. He eyes darted back to scan the back room of the hangar for anything that could catch his eyes. Most of his men were already getting comfortable chatting (or hitting) on the girls of the 501st. Perrine, although still a bit sore from before, was at least forcing herself to down the military-grade rations while talking to Erica and such. Everything was just... normal.

But not all of them.

On the corner of his dark amber eyes, he saw that the girls that were developing the early PTSDs were just sitting at the corner quietly, not really doing anything, not even eating. Although some of the Witches and the marines tried to talk to them, they just kinda withdrew themselves out. They were the Finnish and Russian Witches, in which Liu never really caught their names. Sure, they seems to be doing... fine...? But they're obviously not being themselves.

Out of self-pity, and the knowledge of having the same stress disorder, Liu took two left-over trays from the nearby table, and quietly walked over to them. Their reaction to the approaching sergeant differs from each other. While the Russian girls seems to look a little mellow, the Finnish Witch immediately assumed an alerted position, standing between the smaller and younger gray haired girl and the US Marine, as if still not trusting him. The PTSDs are growing. And he would need to defuse it.

"Whoa... easy there..." He said reassuringly. "I'm just the delivery boy here." He joked dryly. After seeing no reaction from the two girls, he sets the tray down in front of them and just sat there on the ground trying to break the ice. "So... I've noticed that both of you haven't eat anything since our arrival here... so... here, I guess. Sorry in advance for the taste, though."

The two Witches stared at the closed trays for a few seconds, before actually pulling them into their hands, but refrained from saying anything.

"So... I didn't really catch both of your names during last night." Liu spoke. "Pardon me and my bad hearing... but hey, no harm done when meeting new people, right?" The sergeant gave a slight empty smile.

"...Eila Ilmatar Juutilainen." The girl with the long, silky pale white hair was the first one to go, although hesitantly.

"Sanya Litvyak." The other girl with the jade-green eyes was the next one, although her voice seemed much more shy, withdrawn, and reserved compared to her friend. She sounds like she's the more quiet type of the Witch. Liu found himself staring into this girl's particular eyes for more than a second for some reason.

"Right, Eila, and Sanya." He nodded, trying his best to maintain his empty smile, just to reassure the girls that he's not going to do anything stupid for them. "Well, I have to say, Eila... you saved my bacon yesterday, so I owe you my life."

Eila looked at the ground. "I was just protecting Sanya..." She answered bitterly. "I never wanted to kill that man..."

"Hey... it's okay." Liu placed a hand on her shoulder, in which she almost swatted it away, but her action was no more than a flinch at the hand contact. "First kills are never easy... but hey, at least you saved two lives, both mine, and Sanya's over here. Two birds in one stone."

"...Still!" The Soumus Witch almost retorted back, if it wasn't for the Orusian girl's concerned look for the soldiers.

"No... he was right, Eila. I have to say that I'm also in your debt Comrade Sergeant Major..." Sanya trailed, trying to find his correct name. "Wen... was it?" Her quiet and hushed voice peaked up.

"Bingo." Liu chuckled, before clicking his fingers. "Hey, what about if I tell you two a story? Just for fun, and I think that you two will love it."He lied. It was merely his attempt to stem the growth of their stress. Without awaiting any other response, he decided to start his story. "Well... it's about me..."

The story was mainly telling the marine's personal life, also retelling his past experiences as a student back in the States. He had revealed that he was just like Sanya back then. He was a shy, reserved, and timid student back at his school, mostly because of his racial differences. He was unsociably awkward as a student, and he did some clumsy things while he's still young. He told them the more embarrassing part of his life, in an effort to liven their mood up. This seems to be working, as seen the looks on their faces have at least changed, cause of their currently absorbed state on the story.

"...And then Mark yelled to me '_DUDE, YOU'RE WEARING A SKIRT!_', heh, I couldn't even go home from school that day..." He laughed deppreciately to himself, which also earned him a small round of giggle from the girls, much to his relieve. "Oh, wait, it goes even better after this. Now, Lucy was just walking down the road when..."

Sanya noticing something behind the marine, looked a bit surprised. She pointed out her index finger to his back. "Sergeant Major... uhm..."

"What is it, Sanya?" The Asian blinked, before something crept up on his back. This caused the marine to pale significantly. "I-is something crawling...?" He squirmed quietly.

Eila also looked a bit surprised at this. "It's... it's... her, Sergeant... you might want to turn around."

"E-eh?" Before he could even react to that, he could felt his long, sword-like machete being pulled out from its sheath from his upper left shoulder, the force of the pull was so hard, Liu lost his momentum and fell back flat on the floor. He was slightly dazed after the fall, but after several blinks, his eyes met the mischievous face of Francesca Lucchini, a Romagnan Witch, also the youngest of the 501st, having only aged about thirteen or fourteen.

"Hey, look at this, guys! The Sarge also has this cool sword!" She began running, showing the sharp properties of the melee weapon to the rest of the group, let it be the USMCs or the Witches. "Look, Major, it looks pretty similar to your sword too!"

"H-hey, give it back! That thing is not just for show!" Liu demanded, standing up and giving chase to the girl.

"You have to catch me first then! Come on!" Taunted Francesca, already sprinting through the hangar with her fast feet, also flashing him a toothy grin.

"I-I'm serious here! That thing could cut you if you're not careful!" The scout yelled, annoyed. The chase invited some good laughs from the group, Liu consciously noted this, and it was good. They were laughing, and it was pure from their heart. Even Eila and Sanya were giggling loudly at his clumsy attempts to catch the Italian girl. The girls would need this. The marines would need this. He would need this. They all would need this.

Still, there's one thing for sure, though.

Liu Li Wen's sure as hell, he wasn't going to drink the waiting beer at the other table soon enough.

* * *

**For What It's Worth**

**Third Chapter: Morning Madness**

* * *

Quote of the day:

"GIMME' SHELTER!" The Rolling Stones' _Gimme Shelter_, 1966 [Song]

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Erh... after a while, I finally bring you the third chapter of my work, done in a literally half-sleeping state. And wow, this is a pretty long chapter, isn't it? It broke through the 10000 words wall.

Not really much to explain here in this chapter. Just more and more character and plot development, also describing a bit of more detail of Liu's history and the Bad Company as well. Now, I'm sure that I've told you guys this before, but I'm sorry in advance for any OOC, especially for Erica. I know that she's a good sleeper, but for reasons, and etc, etc, etc, I decided to just... cut it out, just for this chapter. Now, I also mentioned that Shirley have begun her tinkering with the Phantom's engines. In short, yes, I'm kinda trying to blend the tech from the Striker Units and the more modern fighter planes.

Oh, and sorry for anything that seems out of place, like the VFMA-314 Black Knights' getting issued with F5 Tigers. F5s weren't actually issued to the fighter wing, in this chapter, it's just purely for aesthetical purposes only. I have to say loads and loads of sorry, for everything that seems to be out in this chapter. You've probably noticed them more than me, since it's past-midnight when I'm actually writing this author's notes... to be honest, I don't even know what am I writing...

But yeah, sorry. Sorry if the pacing's too fast, Sorry if it's kinda unrealistic, Sorry if the character interactions were just stupid. Just kill me, seriously.

Thanks for reading guys. Hope you enjoyed the story so far.

Traesto :]


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